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Class. 
 Book 
 
 Mm. 
 
 Copyright N° 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY 
 
 OF 
 
 ASYLUM 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 Founded in 1793 
 
 BY THE 
 
 French Exiles in America 
 
 The Incidents that Drove them from France. 
 
 Their History while in America. 
 
 Their Return to France. 
 
 Their Descendants who Remained. 
 
 BY 
 
 J. W. INGHAM, 
 
 it 
 
 1916. 
 
Fit 
 
 PRESS OF THE 
 
 TOWANDA PRINTING COMPANY, 
 
 TOWANDA, PA. 
 
 JUN 26 1916 
 ©CI.A433 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Death of Louis XV, and the Accession of his Grandson, Louis 
 
 XVI. 
 The Old Parliaments Revived. 
 Act Passed Abolishing the Privileges of the Nobles and the 
 
 Clergy. 
 The Revolution that Followed. 
 The Reign of Terror. 
 Robespierre at the Head of Affairs. 
 The King Put to Death. 
 The Revolution in San Domingo. 
 A Great Number of Refugees Fled to America. 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 M. Charles Felix Bue Boulogne and Adam Hoops Sent to Se- 
 lect the Site for a Town. 
 
 They Arrived August 27, 1793. 
 
 Judge Matthias Hollenback of Wilkes-Barre, Accepts Their 
 Letter of Credit. 
 
 The Schufeldt Farm (Asylum) Selected. 
 
 October, 1793, M. Boulogne Makes the First Purchase and Is 
 the First Settler. 
 
 Robert Morris Purchases the Desired Lots For the Settlers. 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 M. Talon Arrives at Asylum. 
 
 He Becomes General Manager of the Contemplated Improve- 
 ments. 
 
 The First Grist Mill Built. 
 
 Two Stores Are Started. 
 
 An Inn, or Hotel, is Established. 
 
 Catholic Church Services Are Conducted. 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The D'Autremonts Move to Asylum From "The Butternuts," 
 
 New York. 
 A Settlement Begun at New Era (Terry Township.) 
 
4 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Houses and Gardens Described. 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Dupetithouar, the Founder of Dushore. 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 John Keating Comes to Asylum. 
 
 Habits, Dress and Amusements of the French Exiles. 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Town Described By an English Traveller. 
 
 Charles Felix Bue Boulogne Drowned in the Loyal Sock Creek, 
 Sullivan County. 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Talleyrand Visits Asylum. 
 
 Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, Afterward King of France, 
 Visits Asylum. 
 
 Duke de Rochefoucauld de Laincourt Visits the Colony and 
 Writes About It. 
 
 The Price of Lands, Etc. 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The First Wedding. 
 
 A Theatre is Built. 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Land Titles Poor. 
 
 Discouraging Obstacles to Be Overcome. 
 
 The Clearing of an Acre Costs Thirty Dollars. 
 
 The D'Autremont Family and the Lefevres. 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 M. Bue Boulogne, and Incidents of the Lefevre Family. 
 
 Charles Hornet, Senior, B. Laporte and Others. 
 
 The Postman Brings Joyous News to the Colonists. 
 
 Most of Them Return to France. 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Appendix. 
 
 The Laportes, Hornets, Lefevres, d'Autremonts, and Their De- 
 scendants in America. 
 
(COPYRIGHT APPLIED FOR.) 
 
AUTHOE'S PREFACE. 
 
 The writer began this history about twenty years ago, at 
 which time he gathered the material and prepared the manu- 
 script for "A History of the Susquehanna Valley." This work 
 contemplated covering the whole North Branch valley from 
 Wilkes-Barre to Tioga Point. Such a history, to be correct, 
 must naturally contain the matter pertaining to Asylum and 
 the French Refugees. I, therefore, prepared at that time much 
 of the matter contained in this booklet. 
 
 The Reverend David Craft, long a resident of Terrytown 
 and Wyalusing, Pa., and well known as an historian, had 
 written a History of Bradford County in 1878, which contained 
 a brief history of Asylum. Mr. Craft later moved to Angelica, 
 N. Y., at which place resided some descendants of the French 
 Refugees, formerly of Asylum. After writing his history of 
 Bradford County, Mr. Craft published a pamphlet entitled "A 
 Day at Asylum." He came into possession of additional his- 
 torical matter after moving from this county, which he very 
 generously sent me. I am therefore greatly indebted to him. 
 
 Mr. Miner, in his history of Wyoming, had also written 
 something about the French Refugees, and to him I wish to 
 give due credit. 
 
 My grandfather, Joseph Ingham, came to what is now Brad- 
 ford County in 1793, at about the time the French Refugees 
 came to Asylum. He settled on the Susquehanna River, about 
 eight mlies south of Asylum. His house was in plain sight of 
 the river which was then the principal highway by which set- 
 tlers came into this territory, and it was also the means by 
 which goods and merchandise were transported in Durham 
 boats which plied up and down the river. Naturally, he learned 
 much about the new settlement at Asylum and its people. Some 
 years later, being a practical millwright, he assisted Charles 
 Hornet, Jr., in building a grist mill at Asylum. From him and 
 other members of our family there was handed down, by tradi- 
 tion, considerable information about the French settlers. 
 
8 AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 About twelve years ago, (1904) my brother, the late Thomas 
 J. Ingham, of Laporte, Sullivan County, wrote a history of that 
 county, which was later published. He invited me to assist him 
 in the work, and it was necessary to incorporate in that work 
 all that was known about the French settlers at Dushore and 
 Hillsgrove (in that county) who were a part of the Asylum 
 colony. Some data was obtained at that time, which has been 
 presented in this history of Asylum. 
 
 Still later, or about ten years ago, Mrs. Louise Murray, of 
 Athens, a descendant of Bartholomew LaPorte, one of the French 
 settlers at Asylum wrote a brief history of "Azylum," and to her 
 I am also indebted. This booklet is not designed, or expected 
 to supersede Mrs. Murray's excellent work. It could not do that, 
 for she has specialized and after much painstaking search, pro- 
 cured documentary matter of great value, which is contained in 
 her book. Her history will continue to be read and valued as 
 highly in the future as in the past. 
 
 Mr. John A. Biles, a well known surveyor, whose home is 
 in the near vicinity of Asylum, after a long search found the 
 original map of the town of Asylum, prepared by a French en- 
 gineer. From studying this map, and after careful examination 
 of the ground, he has been enabled to locate the position of the 
 most important buildings which were erected there, of which 
 there are no traces remaining at the present time. Mr. Biles 
 has also contributed much to the history of Asylum. 
 
 John W. Mix, Esq., of Towanda, a descendant of Anthony 
 Lefevre, one of these pioneers, had also acquired some valuable 
 data, and to him I am also greatly indebted. 
 
 Within the past year, a movement has been started, fostered 
 by the Bradford County Historical Society, and the George 
 Clymer Chapter of the D. A. R., of Towanda, to place a per- 
 manent stone marker at, or near, the site of one of the more 
 conspicuous buildings of Asylum. It is proposed to have an 
 anniversary gathering upon the ground in June, 1916, at which 
 time there will be the unveiling of this stone or marker, and 
 suitable addresses to commemorate the event. In anticipation 
 of this event, much important data was placed in the hands of 
 Mr. D. M. Turner, editor of the Towanda Daily Review, from 
 
AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 9 
 
 which he was requested to prepare an article on Asylum, to be 
 printed for that occasion. Mr. Turner, knowing that I had 
 written several articles on this subject, and that I was in pos- 
 session of additional matter, placed this data in my hands with 
 the request that I write the article. In accordance with this 
 request I undertook the task with some diffidence, fearing that 
 Mr. Turner had over-rated my ability along this line. 
 
 After undertaking the work, I soon learned that the sub- 
 ject could not be suitably treated in a short article. It has been 
 thought proper, therefore, to have the matter contained herein 
 printed in book form. This booklet is a mere fragment of the 
 manuscript as at first prepared for the History of the Susque- 
 hanna Valley. The portion selected for publication embraces 
 the territory of Asylum, Wyalusing, Terry, and Wilmot Town- 
 ships. In this section I was born and here I have lived all my 
 life. Many of the pioneers whose names appear in these pages, 
 of the second generation, were personally known to me. Their 
 sons and daughters of the third generation were my acquaint- 
 ances and friends. The descendants of the French Refugees 
 made their homes in all of the four townships mentioned here- 
 in. They are intermarried with the descendants of the pioneer 
 families of the whole section covered by this history. Hence it 
 is, that I discovered that the History of Asylum could not be 
 easily separated from that of the adjoining townships. Of 
 necessity, there are some repetitions; neither township would 
 be complete in itself, without this repetition to some extent. In 
 cases where the different accounts of the same incident are con- 
 flicting, and wherein dates differ, I have endeavored to arrive 
 at the truth through the preponderance of evidence. I do not 
 claim, however, to be infallible, and, no doubt, errors may be 
 
 discovered. 
 
 J. W. INGHAM. 
 Towanda, Penn'a., May 20, 1916. 
 
ASYLUM 
 
 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE FRENCH EXILES AND THEIR 
 
 SETTLEMENT IN AMERICA AT ASYLUM, 
 
 BRADFORD COUNTY, PENNA. 
 
 (The writer of this sketch has deemed it proper to give- 
 here, as preliminary thereto, the following brief review of the 
 events which led up to the French Revolution, and drove these 
 exiles to the wilds of Northern Pennsylvania.) 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FRENCH REVOLUTION. NOBILITY FLEES TO AMERICA. 
 
 IN the year 1754 the King of France, Louis XV, 
 died after a long reign of 58 years. The latter 
 part of his private life was disgraceful; his ad- 
 ministration of public affairs was feeble, and his 
 death was not regretted. He was succeeded by his 
 grandson, Louis XVI. In the four years previous 
 to his succession to the throne, he had lost by death 
 his father and elder brother, both of whom had stood 
 between him and the Kingship. His mother had 
 died about the same time. This unusual mortality 
 in a healthy family was, by some suspicious people, 
 unjustly attributed to poison. 
 
 Louis was a good man morally and no doubt 
 earnest in his endeavors to reform abuses and pro- 
 mote the happiness of his people, but unfortunately 
 the existing state of affairs in France precluded any 
 
12 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 gradual change of government for the better. The 
 church, the nobility, and privileged classes, con- 
 trolled the government and dictated its policy. At 
 the very commencement of his reign, Louis, though 
 with some sacrifice of his feelings and opinions, 
 complied with the general wish of having the old 
 Parliaments, which had not been assembled for a 
 hundred years, restored. Accordingly, a measure 
 was adopted for the restoration of this ancient leg- 
 islative assembly. The King had taken into his ser- 
 vice two ministers favorable to the wishes of the 
 people, — Count de Maurepas and M. Turgot, — both 
 men of ability and desirous of satisfying the people 
 so far as the King was able to do so. 
 
 Unfortunately, they were lacking in that impor- 
 tant gift of statesmanship called "Tact" or concilia- 
 tion. They did not say to the priests, bishops, 
 dukes, counts, and landed gentlemen: "The com- 
 mon people are clamoring loudly for. reforms in 
 the government. It would be to your interest to 
 grant some of the things they are demanding, which 
 would satisfy them. Otherwise they might bring on 
 a revolution, proclaim a republic, and take away all 
 your just rights, as well as privileges." This kind 
 of management might have done great good and pre- 
 vented the Revolution and could have done no harm. 
 Instead of this, Turgot declared: "The only reme- 
 dies to correct the ills of France were economy, and 
 the abolition of privileges so that all people should 
 be taxed alike." For this truthful declaration he 
 was forced to resign. 
 
 The American Revolution had been successful. 
 News of the Declaration of Rights (or Declaration 
 of Independence) had crossed the ocean and been 
 circulated in France, where it was well calculated 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 13 
 
 to encourage revolutionary movements. The Cath- 
 olic Church, which was supported by the govern- 
 ment, with taxes levied on all the people whether 
 they belonged to it or not, created a great deal of 
 angry discussion. Philosophers attacked the 
 Jesuits, the monastic orders, the priests and the 
 Pope of Rome. Tytler, in his history, says : ' ' The 
 errors of Catholicism, upheld by a bigoted, infatu- 
 ated clergy at variance with the only assemblies in 
 the nation capable of any constitutional remon- 
 strance (against tyranny) naturally hurried the 
 wits and free-thinkers of that lively nation into ex- 
 tremes, which every sober-minded man could not fail 
 to lament. In a very short course of time, from 
 railing at the regular clergy, they proceeded to rail 
 at religion, and even atheism was propagated. 
 
 Both in the Parliament, when assembled, and the 
 States General (another legislative chamber that 
 had been called into existence) there were exciting 
 debates, and furious contentions. At this memora- 
 ble period an infatuation, the most surprising, 
 seemed to hurry on the privileged orders to their 
 ruin and destruction, and with them the monarchy. 
 Instead of bending in any manner to the force of 
 popular opinion, they, more strongly than ever, 
 stood on their privileges, and appeared to treat with 
 contempt that powerful and enlightened majority 
 that was opposed to them. 
 
 The descendants of the ancient aristocracy did 
 not number more than two hundred families, but 
 the numbers of those who had bought their titles 
 of Dukes, and Counts, amounted to several thou- 
 sand. The Parliament, the States General, and 
 another body called the ' ' Commons ' ' combined their 
 powers and took the name of "The National As- 
 sembly" in which the nobility and clergy dis- 
 
14 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 tinguished themselves by wearing robes of rare 
 richness and beauty. They did not seem to know 
 that their imprudence would injure them. In 1789 
 an act was passed for the abolition of the privileges 
 of the nobles and clergy; and persons of every rank 
 and description were declared to be eligible to all 
 civil, military and ecclesiastical appointments. 
 
 The royal family were exposed to horrible insults 
 and indignities at Versailles, where the royal palace 
 was located, and almost forced to remove to Paris. 
 Measures were adopted by the Assembly to place 
 all church property at the disposal of the nation; 
 dissolve all monastic establishments; feudal privi- 
 leges and rights, and to suppress the Provincial Par- 
 liaments, (or local rule). Every law was voted by 
 acclamation and scarcely any debate allowed. There 
 were several important grievances, all working to- 
 gether,, which brought on the French Revolution. 
 The common people had no voice whatever in the 
 government under which they lived, or in the enact- 
 ment of the laws which they were forced to obey. 
 The taxes were exorbitant, and those collected from 
 the common people greater in proportion than those 
 paid hj the land owners and wealthy classes. It 
 was ''Taxation without representation" against 
 which the American colonists rebelled. 
 
 The Bastile was a strong fortress armed with can- 
 non, and used as a state's prison, mainly for the in- 
 carceration of political offenders. Owing to the 
 natural clemency of the King it was now almost 
 empty, holding fewer convicts than ever before. 
 
 On the 14th of July, 1789, a false rumor was cir- 
 culated that the commander of the old prison had 
 received orders to turn the guns on the city. A 
 furious mob rushed to attack it, and was fired on by 
 the guards, killing several of the assailants, and the 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 15 
 
 guards themselves were killed in the fight. Their 
 heads were stuck on pikes and carried through the 
 city. The building was completely demolished. 
 When the news was taken to the King he said : ' * It 
 is an insurrection ! " l ' Sire, ' ' said the messenger, ' ' it 
 is more than that, — it is a terrible revolution ! ' ' 
 
 At this time, and for some time afterwards, Gen- 
 eral Lafayette was in sympathy with the revolu- 
 tionists and acting with them. He sent the key of 
 the Bastile to General Washington, under whom he 
 had served in the American Revolution. 
 
 In 1792 Prussia and Austria had intervened to as- 
 sist the King of France. Their intervention was 
 harmful, instead of beneficial to the King. He was 
 accused of calling in the enemies of France to sus- 
 tain his power against the people. This false charge 
 sealed his doom. The regular army was sent to the 
 frontiers to repel the advance of a Prussian army 
 under the command of the Duke of Brunswick. An 
 army of militia was organized and placed under the 
 command of General Lafayette to make it appear 
 more respectable. It was well known to Robes- 
 pierre and his lawless gang, that the militia would 
 not fire on the Parisian mobs. In the month of 
 August a furious attack was made on the King's 
 palace, and in its defence his guards fired on the 
 mob, killing several, and were themselves killed. 
 The reign of terror was now supreme. The execra- 
 ble and unscrupulous Robespierre was at the head 
 of affairs. Space would not admit the description 
 of the atrocities of his merciless career. Lafayette 
 resigned from the army, being unwilling to serve 
 under the monster. Many who were' suspected of 
 favoring the royalists were thrust into prison, and 
 there assassinated without trial, unseen. The num- 
 ber thus put to death in private was computed at 
 
16 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 five thousand. The King, after the mockery of a 
 pretended trial, was condemned to death and be- 
 headed. Not long afterwards, his Queen, an amia- 
 ble woman, and the daughter of a great queen, 
 (Maria Theresa) suffered the same fate. In his 
 trial before the national assembly, the King de- 
 fended himself with great firmness, and simplicity 
 of language. He said: "I had no wish to injure 
 my subjects. No intention of shedding their blood." 
 He declared that his conscience fully acquitted him 
 of the things laid to his charge. His declaration 
 was true. He was in no way responsible for the 
 sufferings of the common people from unjust laws 
 and institutions established long before he was 
 born. He had favored every measure for reforming 
 abuses that had been proposed in the Assembly. 
 
 The men like Lafayette, who had at the begin- 
 ning taken a part in the revolution, had not the 
 faintest idea that it would be transformed into the 
 awful thing it had become in making the finest city 
 in the world a human slaughter house. They were 
 few in numbers as compared with the rabble that 
 rallied around the standard of Robespierre, and the 
 other unprincipled demagogues who acted with 
 him. 
 
 Refusing to join in the wholesale carnage of 
 crimes, Lafayette and his friends were imprisoned. 
 During this period of anarchy, seventy thousand 
 Frenchmen fled from their homes, mainly to other 
 countries in Europe. A few rushed to Haiti, or San 
 Domingo, unconsciously into still greater danger. 
 It was like "jumping out of the frying pan into the 
 fire." The island belonged to France and Spain, 
 the former owning about one-third of the Western 
 end, where the French had several towns, and large 
 plantations well stocked with negro slaves. The 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OP ASYLUM. 17 
 
 situation was dangerous in the extreme. "When the 
 sharp ears of the slaves heard of the revolution in 
 France, and that the people had been successful in 
 obtaining their just rights, they revolted against 
 their masters and fought for their freedom. This 
 bloody conflict was termed the " Horrors of San Do- 
 mingo. ' ' Many of the exiles came to America, tak- 
 ing up their residence in Philadelphia, at that time 
 the largest city in the United States, and the capi- 
 tal of the nation. All were cordially received by the- 
 citizens of that place, who entertained very friendly 
 feelings towards the French, on account of the as- 
 sistance given by their country to the American 
 Colonies during the Revolutionary War. 
 
 General Lafayette, Viscount Louis de Noailles, 
 and other French officers, had come over and volun- 
 teered to serve in the army under General Washing- 
 ton. The houses of native Americans were opened 
 to the exiles, as were the houses of their own coun- 
 trymen, like Stephen Girard, the wealthy merchant, 
 who had long been a resident of the city. However, 
 so great was the number of the refugees it was 
 deemed by their leaders and themselves necessary 
 that some provision should be made for their settle- 
 ment as a colony in the country where it was ex- 
 pected more refugees would come and where they 
 would not be burdensome to their entertainers, and 
 where they could enjoy more comfort and inde- 
 pendence. 
 
 The two most active and influential promoters of 
 the colony scheme were the Viscount Louis Marie de 
 Noailles, and the Marquis Antoine Omer Talon. The 
 former, who was generally called "The Count" by 
 Americans, was born in Paris, April 17th, 1756. 
 Early in life he entered the military service of his 
 country as an officer, and had received promotions 
 
18 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 for good conduct. In 1779 he resigned his commis- 
 sion in the army and came over with Gen. Lafayette 
 and other French officers to assist the United States 
 in obtaining- their independence. He was several 
 times mentioned for bravery by Washington in bis 
 general orders, and was one of the officers appointed 
 by him to receive the surrender of Cornwallis at 
 Yorktown. 
 
 After the conclusion of peace he returned to 
 France, and though he belonged to the nobility him- 
 self, with a long line of titled ancestors, he became 
 one of the most zealous and active advocates of the 
 popular cause. He was a deputy of the nobility to 
 the States General in 1789, and subsequently a mem- 
 ber of the National Assembly, where on the 4th of 
 August of that year, he proposed the celebrated acts 
 by which the whole federal system, with its abuses 
 and class privileges, was abolished. He was active 
 in the re-organization of the army, colonel of a regi- 
 ment, (the highest position he would accept), and 
 Field Marshal of Sedan. At length, like many 
 other zealous Eepublicans, he fell under the displeas- 
 ure of Bobespierre, because he would not sanction 
 nis policy of murder, was condemned to death and 
 his property confiscated. He managed to escape to 
 England and from there came to America, and took 
 up his residence in Philadelphia, where he found 
 many of the friends and acquaintances lie had met 
 when serving in the army of the United States. 
 
 Mr. Wansey, an Englishman who resided in Phil- 
 adelphia during the time of the settlement at Aday- 
 lum, wrote in his journal as follows: 
 
 "June 8th, 1794. I dined this day with Mr. Bing- 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 19 
 
 ham, to whom I had an introduction. There dined 
 with us Mr. Willing, president of the Bank of the 
 United States, (the father of Mrs. Bingham), Mon- 
 sieur Callot, the exiled Governor of Guadaloupe, and 
 the famous Viscount de Noailles, who distinguished 
 himself so much in the first Constituent National 
 Assembly, August 4, 1879. He is now engaged in 
 forming a settlement about sixty-five miles above 
 Northumberland town. It is called "Asylum" and 
 stands on the eastern branch of the Susquehanna. 
 His lady, the sister of Madame Lafayette, with his 
 mother and grand-mother, were guillotined without 
 trial by that arch villian Robespierre." 
 
 A French biographer states that " Noailles has 
 become discouraged at the condition in France. The 
 revolution had not been carried out as he expected 
 and desired, and he resigned his commission in the 
 army and went to England and thence to America 
 of his own free will and accord." Then why did 
 he not take his wife and two young sons along? Mr. 
 Wansey lived at Philadelphia at the time of the 
 French flight to that place, (and as he stated) had 
 his information at first hand. (Mr. Wansey re- 
 moved from Philadelphia to Towanda, Pa., previous 
 to 1842.) 
 
 At the accession of Napoleon Bonaparte to power 
 as First Consul, de Noailles estates were restored 
 to him, but he did not return with the other exiles. 
 He was in partnership with William Bingham in 
 the banking business, had probably sold his estates 
 as he needed cash in hand in his business more than 
 land. Bingham was the first United States senator 
 from Pennsylvania. A Mr. Douglas states that de 
 Noailles in 1803 went to Haiti on business and was 
 
20 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 there persuaded by Kochambeau, (the French Gen- 
 eral) to take the command of a fort besieged by an 
 English squadron. When summoned to surrender 
 de Noailles answer was: "A French general who 
 has provisions, munitions and devoted soldiers, could 
 not surrender without shame." He then got his 
 men on board a ship in the night without being dis- 
 covered, and went to Cuba. Soon afterwards he em- 
 barked in a small ship with a company of grenadiers. 
 They fell in with a British sloop of war — the "Haz- 
 zard" — whose captain he deceived by displaying 
 the British flag, and speaking excellent English. 
 The British captain asked if he had seen anything 
 of de Noailles, whom he was commissioned to i 
 ture. De Noailles replied he was on the same er- 
 rand. They sailed together and in the middle of the 
 night de Noailles rammed the British vessel and 
 then boarded it. After a long, bloody fight, in which 
 he received a mortal wound, he captured the 
 sel. He died a week later, off the harbor of Havana, 
 Cuba. There is a doubtful story that his soldiers, 
 by whom he was greatly beloved, enclosed his heart 
 in a silver box and attached it to their flag. 
 
 About 1791, Madame Laval, (whose husband had 
 been executed) accompanied by her daughter, land- 
 ed at Philadelphia. From thence, accompanied by 
 their mechanics and laborers, she removed to Tren 
 ton Point, now known as Lamogne. She had con- 
 siderable money, bought land, and endeavored to in- 
 duce French exiles to settle there, but the Asylum 
 project of settling in the woods on cheap land, was 
 now being so well advertised and so attractive, that 
 Madame Laval's colony at Trenton Point did not in- 
 crease much in numbers. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 21 
 
 Marquise Antoine Omer Talon was born in Paris, 
 Jan. 20th, 1760. He belonged to one of the most il- 
 lustrious families of the French magistracy, or law 
 judges. He was Advocate General, (or Attorney 
 General) when the revolution of 1789 broke out and 
 where he did his duty as an able lawyer, and was 
 distinguished for his fearless defense of the royal 
 prerogatives. In 1790 he was compromised in the 
 flight of the King, Louis XVII, was arrested and 
 imprisoned for a month. His loyalty to the King 
 angered Robespierre and his conclave, and his ar- 
 rest for the second time was ordered. Knowing what 
 his fate this time would be, he kept himself secreted 
 for several months and fled to Marseilles, where he 
 lay in hiding for several weeks. Here a young 
 Frenchman (Bartholomew Laporte), who had been 
 a wine merchant at Cadiz in Spain, and had his prop- 
 erty confiscated, was desirous of getting to America, 
 as was the case with Talon. They had become ac- 
 quainted. There was an opportunity to embark in 
 an English ship and Laporte and some friends put 
 Talon into a large wine cask and carried him on 
 board, where he kept concealed until the vessel sail- 
 ed. On reaching England Talon engaged a passage 
 for himself and Laporte to Philadelphia, where they 
 arrived early in 1793, and where he was afterwards 
 naturalized as a citizen of the United States. 
 
 He had brought money, and his hospitality to his 
 less fortunate countrymen was unbounded. When 
 the settlement at Asylum had been determined upon 
 he became one of its active promoters, and general 
 manager. Talon and de Noailles had been political 
 enemies in France, the one on the side of the people, 
 and the other on the side of the King. Both were 
 
22 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 now companions in exile and misfortune. They soon 
 became warm personal friends and co-workers in 
 the colony enterprise. They joined heartily in the 
 plan to buy lands on the Susquehanna and secure a 
 home for their unfortunate countrymen, who had 
 fled from the* terrors of the guillotine, with but lit- 
 tle money, and whose estates had been confiscated. 
 
 The first land purchase company with which 
 Noailles and Talon had been connected,, after having 
 been once altered, was entirely dissolved on account 
 of the financial failure of Robert Morris and .John 
 Nicholson, after which Noailles and Talon formed 
 a new company, retaining- a large body of land in 
 Bradford, Sullivan, Lycoming and Luzerne coun- 
 ties. LTnimproved lands in Pennsylvania were cheap 
 in those days, only a few cents per acre, but land 
 titles were very insecure, owing to the conflicting 
 claims of Pennsylvania and Connecticut for Juris- 
 diction. In the organization of the new company, 
 October 26th, 1801, Noailles was to manage its con- 
 cerns in Philadelphia, and Talon to superintend the 
 affairs at Asylum, for which he was to receive three 
 thousand dollars a year as his salary. 
 
 The building, and other necessary expenses of the 
 establishment, were to be paid by the company. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 23 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 M. BOULOGNE SELECTS SITE FOR TOWN. 
 
 [UT CHARLES FELIX BEU BOULOGNE, who 
 I T I had been a lawyer in Paris, and could speak 
 \^ the English language fluently, and Adam 
 Hoops, who had been a Major in General Sullivan's 
 army, and had passed up the river in 1779, and was 
 acquainted with the Susquehanna Valley from 
 Wilkes-Barre to the State line of New York, sent 
 on a tour of observation up the river to select 
 a suitable place for the proposed settlement. They 
 carried the following letter, dated August 8th, 1793, 
 from Robert Morris, who had managed the financial 
 affairs of the United States with great wisdom and 
 success during the Revolutionary war, and was 
 supposed to be very wealthy. He was now a sen- 
 ator of the United States. His letter was addressed 
 to Matthias Hollenback, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and to 
 others to whom Mr. Boulogne and Mr. Hoops may 
 apply: 
 
 "Should Mr. Boulogne find it necessary to purchase pro- 
 visions or other articles in your neighborhood for the use of 
 himself and his company, I beg you will assist him therein, 
 or should you supply him yourself and take his draft on this 
 place, you may rely that they will be paid, and I will hold my- 
 self accountable. Any service it may be in your power to 
 render this gentleman, or his companions, I shall be thankful 
 for, and remain 
 
 Sir Your Ob't Servant, 
 
 ROBERT MORRIS. 
 To Mr. Dunn at Newtown, 
 Messrs. James Tower & Co., at Northumberland. 
 
 Or to any other person to whom Mr. Boulogne, Mr. Adam 
 Hoops and the gentlemen in their company may apply, also to 
 Matthias Hollenback, Esq., Wilkes-Barre. 
 
 (This letter of credit was endorsed on the back as fol- 
 lows) : "I do hereby certify that the within letter is a true 
 
24 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 copy of the original which is in my hands, as witness my hand 
 this 27th day of August, A. D. 1793." 
 
 MATTHIAS HOLLENBACK. 
 
 I have not copied their spelling lest some reader 
 might think they were not well educated. Their 
 spelling was correct for the time in which they 
 wrote. 
 
 Boulogne and Hoops struck across the country 
 from Philadelphia to Northumberland, and thence 
 followed up the North Branch of the Susquehanna 
 to Wilkes-Barre, where they arrived August 1^7, 
 1793, and delivered the Morris letter of credit to 
 Matthias Hollenback, who had several stores and 
 trading posts along the river up to Tioga Point. The 
 letter is still in the possession of the Hollenback 
 family. 
 
 After a careful examination of different localities, 
 Mr. Boulogne and his party selected the Schufeldt 
 flats, now called Frenchtown, in the township of 
 Asylum, nearly opposite the Rummerfield station 
 on the Lehigh Valley Railroad, for the settlement. 
 The flats were named after Peter Schufeldt, a Pala- 
 tine emigrant, who had come from the Mohawk re- 
 gion and settled there for a short time, and then 
 went to Tulpehocken in Berks county, where Con- 
 rad Weiser and other Germans from the Mohawk 
 valley had settled. 
 
 The location of Schufeldt flats was satisfactory to 
 the French, only on the condition that all the set- 
 tlers on it could be bought out, and that both the 
 Pennsylvania, and Connecticut titles could be se- 
 cured at a reasonable price. Judge Hollenback ob- 
 tained the Connecticut title, and Mr. Morris the 
 Pennsylvania claim. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 25 
 
 The names of settlers holding Pennsylvania 
 patents were discovered by Mr. J. A. Biles, a sur- 
 veyor, who has been an indefatigable investigator of 
 land titles, and of facts concerning the French settle- 
 ment at Asylum. The names are as follows: Archi- 
 bald Stewart, William Nicholson, David Lindsay, 
 Robert Stevens and John Bowne (or Bohem). The 
 prices paid for the 300 acre lots varied from $133 
 to $800. The difference in prices depended upon 
 the value of the improvements. 
 
 In the early part of October, 1793, Mr. Boulogne 
 purchased the possession of Simon Spalding at the 
 lower end of Standing Stone, who then removed to 
 Sheshequin. Boulogne took the deed in his own 
 name and lived on the place. There was not mud? 
 chance for the settlers on the lands to charge exor- 
 bitant prices for their possessions. In case they 
 had only the Connecticut title, Mr. Morris would 
 alarm them with a writ of ejectment. If they had 
 the Pennsylvania title, Mr. Hollenback would show 
 them that their lands were within the boundaries of 
 one of the seventeen townships in which only the 
 Connecticut title was good, and would hold the land. 
 Under date of October 9th, 1793, Mr. Morris wrote 
 to Mr. Hollenback as follows: 
 
 "Sir: I rec'd your letter of Sept. 14th, and also one from 
 Mr. Talon and forwarded them both to him for his information 
 and consideration. The one addressed to him he has returned 
 with his observations, but that which was directed to me he 
 has neglected to send back, so that if I omit to answer any 
 points contained in it you must excuse me, as I cannot do it 
 from mere memory. Messrs, de Noailles and Talon desire to 
 make the purchase of the eight lots, or tracts, that compose 
 the tracts of land called "the Standing Stone," and also the 
 island, or islands, which they mentioned to you, but they will 
 have all or none. This they insist on as an absolute condition, 
 
26 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 as you will see by a copy of their observations on nine articles 
 extracted from the contents of your letter to Mr. Talon. 
 
 "They do not object to the prices or terms of payment 
 stated in your letter, but you will perceive by their decision to 
 have all or none, that it will be necessary to make conditional 
 contracts with each of the parties, fixing the terms, and bind- 
 ing them to grant conveyances of their right upon the perform- 
 ance of the conditions by you, on your part, but reserving to 
 yourself for a reasonable time to make the bargain valid, or to 
 annul it. If you can get the whole of them under such cove- 
 nants, under hand and seal, you can then make the whole valid 
 and proceed to perform the conditions and take the convey- 
 ances in the name of Mr. Talon, but should any of these parties 
 refuse to sell or raise in their demands so that you cannot com- 
 ply with them, you can in such case hold the rest in suspense 
 until Mr. Hoops or you send me an express to inform me of all 
 particulars, which will give my friends an opportunity to con- 
 sider and determine finally. 
 
 "Mr. Adam Hoops will deliver this letter. He possesses my 
 confidence and will be glad to render the best assistance, or ser- 
 vice in his power upon occasion. He must, however, act under 
 you for in any other character, the Connecticut men would 
 consider him a new purchaser, and rise in their demands^ He 
 will go with you if you choose, or do anything you may desire 
 to accomplish the object in view. You and he will, therefore, 
 consult together as to the best mode of proceeding, and I must 
 observe that although Mr. Talon has agreed to the prices and 
 terms demanded by the Connecticut claimants, yet I can not 
 help thinking them very dear, and more so as we have been 
 obliged to purchase the Pennsylvania title, which Mr. Hoops 
 will inform you of. I hold it then as incumbent on you to ob- 
 tain the Connecticut rights on the cheapest terms that is possi- 
 ble, and you may, with great propriety let them know, if you 
 think best to do so, that unless they will be content with rea- 
 sonable terms th^t we will bring ejectments against them, or 
 rather that you will do it and try the strength of title, in which 
 case they will get nothing. 
 
 "Whatever you do must be done soon. Winter is approach- 
 ing, and these gentlemen are extremely anxious to commence 
 the operations necessary to the settlement they intend to make, 
 but they will not strike a stroke until the whole of the lots are 
 secured for them, and unless the whole are obtained they give 
 up the settlement and will go to some other part of America. 
 
 "I engage to make good the agreements and contracts you 
 may enter into consistently with your letter of the 14th of Sep- 
 tember last to Mr. Talon, and with his observations thereon, a 
 copy of which Mr. Hoops will give to you if desired, and to en- 
 able you to make the payments according to these stipulations 
 which you may enter into in that respect. I shall also pay the 
 order for a thousand dollars already given you on their account. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 27 
 
 "The settlement which these gentlemen meditate at the 
 Standing Stone is of great importance to you, and not only to 
 you, but to all that part of the country, therefore you ought, for 
 your own interest, and the intetrest of your country, to exert 
 every nerve to promote it. They will be of great service to 
 you, and you should render them disinterestedly every service 
 possible. Should they fail of establishing themselves at the 
 Standing Stone there is another part of Pennsylvania which I 
 should prefer for them, and if they go there, I will do everything 
 for them that I possibly can. 
 
 "I am, Sir, your obedient humble servant, 
 
 "ROBERT MORRIS." 
 Matthias Hollenback, Esq., 
 
 Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 
 
 Mr. Morris frequently uses capital letters where 
 they are not needed, and often makes the character 
 "&" serve for "and;" mistakes which I have not 
 copied. College graduates and members of Con- 
 gress make mistakes when their minds are intently 
 fixed on their subject. What the reader will wonder 
 at is. his copious, diffusive style of writing, requiring 
 twice the space necessary to make the subject equal- 
 ly clear. 
 
 All the lots were purchased in accordance with 
 Mr. Morris' directions, and the conveyances legally 
 executed early in 1794. On the 19th of October, 1793, 
 Mr. Boulogne wrote from Standing Stone to Mr. 
 Hollenback as follows: 
 
 I received from Mr. Town the favor of yours, dated the 11th 
 instant, and your boat also arrived here a few days after. All 
 that was enumerated in your bill of lading has been delivered, 
 and you are therefore credited on my account of 48 £, 10s, 2p, 
 this currency. When you send me the price of the ox cart, 
 cows, and bell, I shall do the same. The cows are exceedingly 
 poor and hardly give any milk, but I hope they will come to, 
 and therefore we will see one another on that account; but I 
 cannot help observing to you that your blacksmith hath not 
 treated us well. The chains and tools are hardly worth any- 
 thing. The iron is so bad or tender, that it breaks like butter. 
 I wish you to mention it to him for the future. The difficulty 
 of having the buildings (finished) and a great many articles of 
 provisions in proper time hath determined us, and the gentle- 
 
28 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 men in Philadelphia, to lessen them, (the expense), and as 
 Mr. Keating hath told you, the expenses will of course be lessen- 
 ed, therefore I have not sent you the draft for $3000.00 which 
 we spoke of when I was in Wilkes-Barre, and one of the gentle- 
 jmen who will deliver you this letter is going to Philadelphia; 
 if you are not gone will be very glad of your company. Will 
 you see Messrs. Talon and de Noailles in that city and send, 
 or bring their answer on things relating to the expenses? 
 
 I will be obliged to you to deliver to the other gentleman 
 who is coming back here directly as much money as you pos- 
 sibly can, or the $1250.00 which remain in your hands for my 
 draft on Robert Morris, Esq.; and you will take his receipt 
 and charge it to my account. You may also make me debtor for 
 the sum of 13 £ 17s 6d, which Mr. John Whitney hath given 
 me for your account and of which you will dispose according 
 to the note herein enclosed, having credited you here of the 
 same. 
 
 Esq. Hancock had not yet concluded his bargain with Gay- 
 lord; and Skinner, you know is now of the greatest importance 
 to have it concluded, as well as the one of Ross; otherwise it 
 will stop me here, all at once the gentlemen in Philadelphia 
 being determined to have the whole, or none at all, or to reject 
 the whole purchase from Mr. Morris. 
 
 In your letter you speak to me of having bought from Ross 
 the house and part of the land; but you don't tell me the quan- 
 tity of land. I hope you have concluded the whole; and beg 
 of you to say something to me of that account in your letter 
 and explain it well, because of your answer I shall either go on 
 with the buildings or stop them immediately. 
 I remain with esteem, Yours, 
 
 CHAS. BUE BOULOGNE. 
 (Postcript) 
 
 Sir: In buying from Mr. Ross you must absolutely buy the 
 crop which is in the ground. Everybody here is sorry you have 
 not done it so, for the other purchase, because it keeps one year 
 entirely without enjoying our property. 
 
 I have received the cloth that was over Mr. Talon's boat; 
 but you have forgot to send me by your boat the frying pan, 
 salt, axes, &c, that Mr. Ross hath returned to you. Be kind 
 enough to send by the first opportunity the sack of things he- 
 longing to Mr. Michael, which by mistake I sent, or left, at 
 your house." 
 
 Toward the last of November he wrote to Mr. 
 Hollenback to send up some Franklin stoves and 
 pipe, since the weather had become so cold the 
 masons could not build chimneys. Other letters in- 
 dicate that during the whole autumn Mr. Boulogne 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 29 
 
 was engaged busily in making the needful arrange- 
 ments for the reception of the colonists. Workmen 
 were employed in building houses, repairing fences, 
 on the cleared fields, and making other improve- 
 ments. A large number of men were employed, as 
 he speaks of wanting a thousand dollars to pay his 
 workmen. 
 
 About the middle of November, Mr. de Noailles, 
 who continued to reside in Philadelphia, visited the 
 place where the work was going on, which now took 
 the name of Asylum, or "Azylum" (as the French 
 pronounced it), and as the American residents also 
 pronounced it for many years afterwards. The plan 
 of the settlement was determined on, and the whole 
 plan accurately surveyed into town, and outlying 
 lots. A map of this French survey is still in exist- 
 ence, but badly worn and yellow with age. Mr. 
 John A. Biles, an experienced surveyor, has made 
 an excellent copy, an impression of which is printed 
 in this history. 
 
 The lots purchased at Asylum contained ' 2400 
 acres, and in addition the Asylum Company had se- 
 cured a title to a large number of tracts of unim- 
 proved, or "wild land" (as it was termed) in the 
 counties of Bradford, Sullivan, Lycoming, and Lu- 
 zerne, which were sold on liberal terms to actual 
 settlers. The plan for the village was nearly a par- 
 allelogram. Five streets were laid out running due 
 north, and south; these were crossed at right angles 
 by nine other streets, each street being 50 feet in 
 width. Near the center of the plot was an open 
 square containing about two acres. The middle 
 street of the five streets was 100 feet wide, twice the 
 width of the others. 
 
30 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 Four hundred and thirteen house lots wore sur- 
 veyed containing about an acre each. There were 
 also on the west side adjoining the town, seventeen 
 lots of five acres each,- and fifteen lots of ten aero 
 each, which were called town lots. One hundred 
 thousand acres of wild land were purchased by sub- 
 scription on the Loyal Sock creek, now Sullivan 
 county, 2500 acres of which were divided into town 
 shares of 400 acres each. When any part of this 
 land was cleared by a subscriber, he received nine 
 dollars per acre out of the common fund. "Fabul- 
 ous sums were anticipated," says Mr. Craft, in his 
 history of Bradford county, from this land specula- 
 tion. 
 
 Mr. Boulogne bent all his energies to get the 
 houses ready for the colonists in the early Spring, 
 and was favored with mild weather which continued 
 until nearly Christmas. The houses which were be- 
 ing built were mostly two stories in height, built 
 of hewn logs, squared on four sides and planed to 
 make them fit closely together and for good appear- 
 ance. They were roofed with pine shingles and all 
 the houses had a good cellar under the dining room. 
 In the interior they had good floors and general ly 
 were papered. To the native Americans their 
 houses looked like palaces. Their good doors, large 
 glass windows and shutters, and piazzas, or porches, 
 were regarded as extravagant. A few of the resi- 
 dents had some furniture that came from France, 
 and all had their houses better furnished than most 
 of the "Yankees." The settlers in Bradford Coun- 
 ty, having come mainly from Connecticut, were so 
 called by the French. 
 
 The house built by Talon was the most pretentious 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OP ASYLUM. 31 
 
 of any in the village and was said to be the largest 
 log house ever built in America. It was generally 
 known as "La Grande Maison" or the great house. 
 It was built of hewn logs like the others, with 
 shingle roof. It was about 84 feet long and 60 feet 
 wide, two stories high, with a spacious attic. There 
 were four stacks of chimneys and eight fire places 
 on each floor. The windows were all square, with 
 small panes of square glass. There was no hooded, 
 or fancy work about the windows. On each floor 
 there was a hall from 8 to 12 feet wide, running the 
 entire length of the building, with outside doors at 
 each end. There were three rooms on the side next 
 the river, and four on the other. The four rooms 
 were of equal size. On the river side the middle 
 room was twice the size in length of the others, and 
 extending into the hall, with double doors set cross- 
 wise on each corner, opposite of each was a broad 
 flight of stairs leading to the upper story. In each 
 end of this room were fire places, one much larger 
 than the other. "So large indeed," Mrs. Louise 
 Murray says in her history, ' ' that when it was used 
 by the Laportes, after the colony had been broken 
 up and the house vacated, oxen were used to draw 
 back-logs right into the room." These big fire places 
 were common in those days. In the center of the 
 side was a double door with the upper half set with 
 small panes of glass. On each side of this door were 
 very large French windows, reaching from the floor 
 nearly to the ceiling. Boards, planed and matched, 
 were used for ceilings and walls instead of lath and 
 paster. Most of the wood work was planed, but un- 
 painted. The stairs had rails and posts of black 
 walnut. This house was built for Talon and occu- 
 
32 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 pied by him. It stood on lot No. 418 just north of 
 the house now standnig built by Judge Laporte in 
 1839, now owned by the Hagerman family. 
 
 The big house in which Talon resided was torn 
 down in 1846. Traces of the foundation are still to 
 be seen. Mrs. Murray says, "As long as it stood the 
 large room was called the "French ladies' drawing 
 room," where doubtless were gathered all the 
 famous visitors to the colony, and here Talon's gen- 
 erous hospitality was dispensed." 
 
 Some houses were built on the bank of the river 
 for slaves. A few of the exiles had been residents 
 of San Domingo at the breaking out of the slave in- 
 surrection and had fled from the "Horrors of San 
 Domingo" to the United States, and joined the 
 colony at Asylum. They soon learned that they 
 could not hold their slaves in Pennsylvania, and the 
 slaves were not long in finding out that here they 
 were free, and took "French leave" by leaving their 
 masters. One forsaken master was greatly aggriev- 
 ed at the loss of a slave, and endeavored to recover 
 him. He addressed the following letter to Mr. Hol- 
 lenback : 
 
 "Asylum, April 1st, 1796. 
 
 Sir: I hope you will not take it ill if I address myself to 
 you, and claim your assistance. A negro man about 20 years 
 of age, stoutly built ran away from my house night before last. 
 He can hardly speak a word of English. He took away a new 
 axe, a couple of new shirts, several pairs of linen, and cloth 
 trousers, two blankets, and had a hat with a blue ribbon. He 
 says he is free, though he is bound for no less than fourteten 
 years. I would take it as a great favor if you would be so kind 
 as to have him advertised. I will give five dollars reward, and 
 pay all reasonable charges. If in return I could be of any ser- 
 vice to you, please to dispose of your 
 
 Very obedient, humble servant, 
 
 "LARONE." 
 
 The binding for 14 years must have been in accordance with 
 some law of San Domingo. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 33 
 
 A large number of men were employed in clearing 
 land and buiding houses. Some of the mechanics 
 came np from Wilkes-Barre, but ordinary labor was 
 plentifully supplied from the surrounding country. 
 Much of their supplies of building materials and 
 provisions for workmen were sent up in boats by 
 Judge Matthias Hollenback. The distance by the 
 crooked river from Wilkes-Barre to Asylum was 
 about 75 miles, and it required four or five days to 
 make the trip. By the nearest road on the west side^ 
 of the river the distance 'was not more than 59 miles. 
 
 J*l 
 
 CHAPTEE III. 
 
 THE REFUGEES ARRIVE AT ASYLUM. 
 
 H, TALON arrived at Asylum the 9th of De- 
 cember and took charge of the business. 
 Work was carried on until the 21st of De- 
 cember, when the weather became so cold that the 
 operations were suspended until the following 
 spring. Several houses had been completed except 
 chimneys, and for these Franklin stoves and pipe 
 had been substituted so that the winter was spent in 
 comfort by those already in the settlement. A quan- 
 tity of goods . and supplies for the place had been 
 sent from Philadelphia to Catawissa and were 
 brought up in boats after the ice commenced run- 
 ning in the river. When spring opened work was 
 resumed at Asylum, and emigrants who had spent 
 the winter in Philadelphia began to arrive. They 
 came by land to Catawissa and thence in boat up 
 the river. Of these, says Mr. Craft, the historian, 
 "some were of noble birth; several had been con- 
 
34 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 nectecl with the King's household; a few be- 
 longed to the Secular clergy, i. e. had not as- 
 sumed monastic vows; some had been soldiers; 
 others keepers of cafes, or restaurants, and mer- 
 chants." It was a discouraging prospect for these 
 city bred people to take up their residence in log 
 houses far away in the woods of northern Pennsyl- 
 vania in a clearing full of stumps and no roads that 
 any team but oxen could safely travel. However, 
 they soon improved their land, and made themselves 
 comfortable. Mr. Talon, who was general manager, 
 and governor, planned improvements on a large 
 scale. 
 
 At this time there was no mill in Bradford county 
 that could make bolted flour. There were some 
 small mills that ground corn into meal. There was 
 no stream in Asylum large enough to drive a mill, 
 a grist mill driven by horse power was erected. The 
 mill stones, which were composed of the Lacka- 
 wanna flint rock, were brought up from Wilkes- 
 Barre. These flint rocks supplied mill stones for 
 country mills for a long time before the French bur 
 mill stones were manufactured. For a bolting cloth 
 one of the ladies donated a new silk dress which had 
 never been worn, and it answered the purpose ex- 
 tremely well, though the meshes were rather too 
 fine to take out all the flour. Only the finest and 
 whitest was gotten out. 
 
 The nearest store to Asylum was Judge Hollen- 
 back's establishment at Tioga Point (now Athens), 
 nearly 30 miles distant. Two general stores were 
 established and well patronized at Asylum. They 
 kept a larger and more varied assortment of goods 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 35 
 
 than could be found at any store north of Wilkes- 
 Barre. 
 
 The colonists cleared up their lots, beautified 
 their lawns with flowers and shrubs, raised good 
 gardens and made their homes more attractive than 
 their American neighbors were accustomed to see. 
 Blacksmiths, carpenters, weavers and laborers were 
 brought to the place, for well they knew that it is 
 laborers who build up and support the towns. The 
 romance of the settlement, the reputed wealth and 
 distinction of the settlers, their refinement, the well 
 filled stores, the skill of the mechanics who had 
 gathered there, brought many visitors here from 
 abroad out of curiosity. To accommodate these 
 strangers who came among them, as well as some 
 of their own citizens who had no families, three 
 taverns were licensed, though two would have been 
 enough. Mr. Lefevre was licensed in August, 1794, 
 by the court of Luzerne county to keep an inn. In 
 January, 1795, a like license was granted to M. 
 Heraud, and in April, 1797, to Peter Eegnier and 
 John Becdelliere. 
 
 The services of the Catholic Church were observed 
 by the Secular clergy. It is said there was a small 
 chapel erected. The missal in use was afterwards 
 in the possession of the Rev. Patrick Toner,formerly 
 a Roman Catholic priest at Towanda, Pa. 
 
36 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE D'AUTREMONTS. 
 
 IN September, 1792, a few French exiles settled at 
 the "Butternuts," a few miles above Bingham- 
 ton, N. Y. Among them were Madame Marie 
 Jeanne d'Ohet d'Autremont, whose husband had 
 been guillotined by the Revolutionists in Paris. Her 
 three sons, Louis Paul, aged 22; Alexander Hubert, 
 aged 16, and Augustus Francois Cecile, aged 9; 
 Madame d' Autremont's brother-in-law, Antoine 
 Bartholomay Louis Lefevre, and W. Prevost were 
 residents of the same place. Their surroundings 
 being unpleasant, and an Indian reservation being 
 located near by, they decided to remove to Asylum. 
 In 1794, Mr. Talon sent up a boat and brought the 
 whole colony down. Wherever the French exiles 
 happened to be when they heard of Asylum, they 
 turned their steps towards the place. 
 
 September 25, 1794, James Montule wrote to 
 Judge Hollenback as follows: 
 
 "The following articles, I hope, you will be so kind as to 
 secure in your store, to be forwarded to Asylum to Mr. Keating 
 by the first opportunity, as I intend to move up very soon with 
 a part of my family." 
 
 He described his effects as consisting of three 
 chests covered with "leather and skin." Two 
 chests of plain wood, and a large bundle of bedding, 
 also two good horses, one of which was blind, both 
 of which he wanted to sell. 
 
 These Frenchmen understood the value of good 
 roads. They improved the roads leading to Asylum, 
 laid out a road to Dushore, and opened it as far as 
 Laddsburg. A settlement was begun in the south 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 37 
 
 end of Terry township not far from New Era, where 
 two large houses were begun for the reception of 
 the King and Queen of France who had been de- 
 throned, and whom they supposed would be allowed 
 to leave France. The news of their execution put 
 a stop to their work. Clearings were begun in the 
 vicinity of New Albairy and at Laddsburg. Near 
 New Albany the frame of a sawmill was erected, 
 made of oak timber, every stick of which was planed 
 — which showed how fond they were of good looks — 
 for they knew as well as anybody "that the planing 
 would not make the mill cut one single foot more of 
 lumber, nor last a day longer before rotting down. 
 The mill irons were brought on the ground, but 
 never put in place, because the news from France 
 indicated the probability of their return to their 
 beloved country. They loved beer, or expected to 
 sell it, as they built a brewery on a little stream 
 that crosses the road near the (later) Gilbert home- 
 stead. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HOUSES AND GARDENS DESCRIBED. 
 
 HE following description of one of the houses 
 at Asylum no doubt describes most of the 
 others. It was No. 416-417 and belonged 
 to Miss Seybert. It was a "log house 30x18 feet, 
 covered with nailed-on shingles. The house is di- 
 vided into two lower rooms and two in the upper 
 story. The lower ones are papered. On both 
 sides of the house stand two small buildings of the 
 same kind; one is used for a kitchen, the other be- 
 
38 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 ing papered, is commonly called the dining room. 
 Both these buildings have good fire places, and are 
 one and a half stories high. Three rooms in the 
 biggest house have fire places. The two side build- 
 ings and the other are joined together by a piazza. 
 There is a good cellar under the dining room. The 
 yard is enclosed by paling fence, the palings nailed 
 on. The garden has a like fence with a good double 
 gate. A constant stream of water runs through the 
 garden. Over the spring, a spring house has been 
 erected which is divided into two rooms, one of them 
 being floored. The garden is decorated by a consid- 
 erable number of fruit trees, young Lombardy pop- 
 lars and Weeping Willows. The garden also con- 
 tains a latticed summer house. Next to the gar- 
 den is a nursery of about 900 apple trees. The 
 lower part of the lot forms a piece of meadow 
 of about eight acres enclosed by a post, and 
 rail fence. On the same lot stands a horse grist 
 mill, which is 40 feet long and 34 feet wide. Part 
 of the lower story is contrived into a stable for the 
 mill horses and a cow stable. Part of the upper 
 story is used to keep fodder. The mill is double 
 geared, and in complete order, being furnished with 
 a good pair of stones, good bolting cloth, and in one 
 corner stands a good fire place. Above the mill runs 
 a never failing spring which waters a great part of 
 the meadow. ' ' 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OP ASYLUM. 39 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 DUPETITHOUAR, FOUNDER OF DUSHORB. 
 
 ONE of the most distinguished and popular resi- 
 dents of Asjdumhad the long name of Aristide 
 Aubert Dupetithouar. He had been a post cap- 
 tain in the French navy and was usually called * ' The 
 Admiral." He could speak English better than 
 many of the others, was of a frank, generous dispo- 
 sition, friendly and sociable with Americans, was 
 the one liked the best, and longest remembered by 
 them. He was born in 1760, educated at the mili- 
 tary school in Paris. He was in the French naval 
 service in the war with Great Britain and had lost 
 one of his arms in battle and had been retired with 
 a pension. Later he became greatly interested in 
 the fate of the missing navigator, Laperouse, and 
 in company with his brother fitted out an expedition 
 on their own account to search for the missing ship. 
 He sailed in September, 1792, but a fatal malady 
 broke out among his crew, and one-third of them 
 died. He then put into the nearest harbor, which 
 was on the island Ferdinand de Noronha, belonging 
 to Portugal where his vessel was seized, and he was 
 sent a prisoner to Lisbon. The French Revolution 
 had broken out; as he belonged to the aristocracy; 
 had served under King Louis XVI, who had been 
 dethroned; France would not be a safe abode for 
 him, and as soon as released at Lisbon, came to 
 America. Landing at Philadelphia he became ac- 
 quainted with de Noailles, who persuaded him to go 
 to Asylum, where he arrived October 29th, and as 
 he was almost penniless, he immediately asked for 
 
40 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 work, of which there was a pressing need in build- 
 ing houses for the exiles in Philadelphia who 
 wanted to come in the spring, in time to make gar- 
 den. He was given work by Boulogne, the Super- 
 intendent, and did as much with his one arm as the 
 other laborers with two. His conduct was a fine 
 example of what a brave man, with a stout heart, 
 can endure with cheerfulness when overwhelmed 
 with misfortunes. He had earned enough in help- 
 ing to build houses to pay for 400 acres of wild land 
 where the village of Dushore now stands, and where 
 he commenced a clearing, wielding the axe with one 
 hand. It was at the request of Charles F. Welles 
 of Wyalusing, that the village was named Dushore 
 in honor of the brave Frenchman who had made the 
 first clearing. The story of his giving away his 
 shirt to a man who claimed to have been robbed of 
 all his clothing by the Indians, is no doubt pure 
 fiction. When the Duke de Rochefoucauld and M. 
 Blacon visited Asylum and Niagara Falls in 1795 
 Dupetithouar accompanied them. The two visitors 
 went on horse-back and he on foot, keeping up to 
 the horses during the whole journey. He declared 
 he had rather walk than ride, but probably he was 
 not able to buy a horse. When order was restored 
 in France he was among the first to return to his 
 native country where he was recommended by the 
 foremost naval officers (who knew his former ser- 
 vice) for a commission in the navy. On presenting 
 himself to the Minister of Marine, (or secretary of 
 the navy), was told that he could go on the retired 
 list, as he had lost an arm in service. His reply 
 was: "I have given one hand for France, and here 
 is the other for her service." He was given a com- 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OP ASYLUM. 41 
 
 mission and placed in command of the Letonant, an 
 old vessel of 80 guns, which was one of the fleet that 
 conveyed Bonaparte's army to Egypt, and which a 
 short time after was annihilated by the British fleet 
 under Nelson at the battle of Nile. Dupetithoaur 
 managed his ship with great skill, but was killed 
 just at the close of the battle August 1, 1798. 
 
 CHAPTEE VII. 
 
 HABITS AND AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 r J\ MONG the ablest and most active promoters 
 L\ of the colony was John Keating, an Irishman, 
 \ but whose ancestors were English Catho- 
 lics who emigrated to Ireland on account of religious 
 persecution at the hands of Queen Elizabeth and 
 Oliver Cromwell. In Ireland they had fought 
 against England and had to go to France for safety. 
 At the beginning of the Eevolution, John Keating 
 was in San Domingo, and on the breaking out of the 
 insurrection there, came to Philadelphia with only 
 $280 in his pocket. Like Noailles, he was attracted 
 mainly by benevolent motives instead of a desire to 
 speculate in land. After the abandonment of the 
 colony at Asylum he became associated with de 
 Noailles in a land purchase in Tennessee and also in 
 northern Pennsylvania. Shortly after the breaking 
 up of the colony he married Eulalie Deschampelles, 
 the daughter of a prominent planter from San Do- 
 mingo of French lineage, and resided at Philadel- 
 phia until his death at the age of ninety-six. 
 
 It is probable that no place in America ever held 
 
42 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 at one time, or in so short a time, so many per- 
 sons of noble birth, or who became so distinguished 
 afterwards. Some of them had been connected 
 with the King's household, a few had been soldiers, 
 and army officers; a few had been the keepers of 
 cafes (restaurants) and stores; three belonged to 
 the Catholic priesthood; few, if any, had belonged 
 to the laboring class, and none had been farmers. 
 They were mostly Parisians by birth and residence, 
 and were accustomed to the comforts, conveniences, 
 refinements and pleasures of the gayest and most 
 beautiful city in the world. They knew nothing 
 about clearing land and raising crops, nothing about 
 the toil and hardships to which the early settlers in 
 a new. country, covered with woods, are exposed. 
 They were to make a living by farming, but not one 
 of them had ever been a farmer. In clearing land 
 they did more chopping than there was any need of, 
 chopping to an equal depth all around a tree, and 
 have a man stand and watch which way it started 
 to fall, and tell the chopper which way to run for 
 safety when it fell to the ground. By chopping only 
 on two sides, the tree would have fallen with less 
 work, and the chopper could have told which way 
 it would fall, or could have made it fall, usually in 
 the direction he wanted it to fall. 
 
 In some things the French showed remarkable 
 foresight and economy. The tar from the pitch 
 pines (of which there were many) was extracted 
 and sold instead of being burned up with the wood 
 in their log heaps. The ashes from the huge lire 
 places and from the log-heaps was preserved and 
 made into pot-ash. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM, 43 
 
 These Parisians did not become regardless of per- 
 sonal appearance after they became residents of the 
 woods. No matter how plain the food on their 
 tables, the ladies always came to dinner in full dress, 
 and the men put on the best suit of clothes in their 
 possession. Their American neighbors laughed 
 about this, but it was entirely proper and praise- 
 worthy. It showed respect for each other, promoted 
 cheerfulness, and beguiled the solitude of their situ- 
 ation. Although strangers in a strange land, they 
 did not forget their French gaiety. They frequently 
 spent the evening in each other's houses with music 
 and dancing. In summer they congregated on the 
 hill above the town which commanded a magnificent 
 view of the valley, and here they frequently pic- 
 nicked. Judge Jonathan Stevens, who knew them 
 well, says: 
 
 "Their amusements consisted of riding, walking, 
 swinging, music, (and perhaps dancing), and some 
 times they passed their time with cards, chess, or 
 the back gammon board. In their manners, they 
 were courteous, polite, and affable. In their living 
 they followed their French customs. Breakfast 
 late, on coffee, fresh meat, bread and butter. Din- 
 ner at 4 o'clock. Drank best wine or brandy after 
 dinner, ladies and gentlemen who chose, drank tea 
 in the evening. (I speak of the wealthy). They 
 were able to command the best of everything. One 
 of their American choppers, or log cutters, stated 
 that he was directed to fall a tree across a big stump 
 so that when it was trimmed and the top cut off, it 
 would balance like a pair of scales, and make a 
 splendid teeter. Four or five persons could sit on 
 
44 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 each end, eight, or ten could enjoy the pleasure at 
 the same time. The same chopper states that sev- 
 eral times he was sent a mile to cut trees that ob- 
 scured a perfect view up and down the river." 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 TOWN DESCRIBED BY A TRAVELLER. 
 
 ISAAC WELD, JR., an Englishman, who had been 
 traveling in Canada and the United States 
 during the years 1795-1797, visited Asylum, and 
 wrote in his journal as follows : 
 
 "The whole way between Lochartzburg and 
 Wilkes Barre are settlements on each side of the 
 river at no great ditance from each other. There 
 are also several towns on the bank of the river, the 
 principal one is Frenchtown, situated will 1 in a short 
 distance of the Falls of Wyalusing, on the western 
 side of the river. The town was laid out at the ex- 
 pense of several philanthropic persons of Pennsyl- 
 vania, who entered into a subscription for the pur- 
 pose as a place of retreat for the unfortunate emi- 
 grants who fled to America from France. The town 
 contains about 50 log houses, and for the use of the 
 inhabitants a considerable tract of land has been 
 purchased adjoining to it which has been divided 
 into farms. The French who have settled here, 
 however, seem to have no great inclination or ability 
 to cultivate the earth, and the greater part of them 
 have let their lands at a small yearly rent to Ameri- 
 cans, and amuse themselves by driving deer, fishing 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 45 
 
 and fowling. They live entirely to themselves. 
 They hate the Americans who live in the neighbor- 
 hood, and the Americans hate them, and accuse 
 them of being an idle, dissipated set. The manners 
 of the two people are so very different it is impossi- 
 ble they should ever agree. ' ' 
 
 The Englishman was evidently prejudiced against 
 the French. England and France had been at war 
 so many times their people did not love each other. 
 There were two classes of people in Bradford 
 county at that time, the same as elsewhere in the 
 world. Respectable Americans liked the French, 
 who were courteous, polite and respectful, and the 
 French liked Americans, who were intelligent, hon- 
 est and upright. 
 
 Hubert, son of Madame d'Autremont, married 
 Abigail, daughter of Major Oliver Dodge of Terry- 
 town, four miles below. Augustus Francois, an- 
 other son of Madame d'Autremont, married Sarah 
 Ann Stewart, an American girl. A Mr. Beaulieu 
 also married an American wife. Surely these 
 young Frenchmen of noble birth would not have 
 been likely to marry into families they hated. 
 
 Mr. Weld makes a mistake in his geography. He 
 says: "Frenchtown is situated within a short dis- 
 tance of the Falls of Wyalusing." The Falls of 
 Wyalusing are in the river at the lower end of 
 Quick's Bend, more than ten miles by (and on the 
 nearest road), and not less than fourteen by the 
 crooked river. The Wyalusing Falls, which Mr. 
 Weld mentions, though not so long and rough, as 
 the Conewago Falls, on the Susquehanna below Mid- 
 dletown, or the Wells Falls on the Delaware river, 
 
46 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 were great enough to be spoken of by some writers 
 before Mr. Weld's visit. In 1750, Bishop Camerkoff 
 and David Zeisberger, Moravian missionaries, who 
 passed up the river in a canoe with an Indian guide, 
 speak of Wyalusing Falls as being of considerable 
 magnitude. Since then there have been some tre- 
 mendous ice gorges in view at Quick's Bend, just 
 below, which caused great dams, and when these 
 dams started the ice tore out the rocks that made the 
 falls, and drove them down the river into the deep 
 water at Rocky Forest just below. At the present 
 time instead of a short rough falls, we have a rift 
 nearly a mile long. 
 
 Mr. David Craft, the historian, in his pamphlet, 
 * ' A Day at Asylum, ' ' says : ' ' Among the conspicu- 
 ous characters at Asylum was Charles Felix Bue 
 Boulogne. He was a native of Paris, and during 
 our struggle for independence, became one of our 
 enthusiastic admirers, and was one of that large 
 number of young Frenchmen who came to this 
 country with Lafayette, and offered us his services 
 in the contest. After the war, having become pro- 
 ficient in our language and acquainted with the 
 country and its great advantages, he determined to 
 remain in it. Boulogne bought on his own account 
 the General Simon Spalding farm on the east side 
 of the Susquehanna, where he probably lived, and 
 where he died in 1795 or 1796, and was buried in the 
 little consecrated ground on Broad street, at 
 Asylum. ' ' 
 
 Mr. Craft is generally very careful and accurate 
 in his statements, but here he was mistaken. Charles 
 Felix Bue Boulogne was drowned in attempting to 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 47 
 
 ford the Loyal Sock creek at Hillsgrove, July 20th, 
 1796. The creek was very high at the time. His 
 body was recovered and buried at Hillsgrove, Pa., 
 it being the first burial in the cemetery. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 TALLEYRAND VISITS ASYLUM. 
 
 IN the fall of 1795, Talleyrand visited Asylum and 
 remained some time. Afterwards he was Napol- 
 eon Bonaparte's minister of Foreign Affairs, 
 and became one of the ablest, shrewdest, most adroit 
 and unscrupulous diplomatists in Europe. In 1796 
 Louis Philippe, Duke of Orleans, (afterwards King 
 of France) accompanied by the Duke Montpensier, 
 and Count Beaujolais, his brother, came to Asylum 
 and remained there some time, the guests of his for- 
 mer Parisian friends. After visiting Niagara Falls 
 and other places of interest, Louis Philippe went 
 to Philadelphia where he remained several weeks. 
 It is said that while there he proposed marriage to 
 the beautiful daughter of Richard Willing, a wealthy 
 gentleman, the President of the United States Bank. 
 Mr. Willing told him: "In case you do not obtain 
 your throne in France, you would not be able to sup- 
 port my daughter in the manner to which she has 
 been accustomed. If you should obtain it, my 
 daughter would not be good enough for you. You 
 would have to put her away and marry a King's 
 daughter. ' ' 
 
 Among the prominent residents while the colony 
 existed, were persons of wealth, and who had held 
 
48 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 high position in France. The Marquis Leucretions 
 de Blacons was a deputy for Dorphine in the con- 
 stituent Assembly. After leaving France he mar- 
 ried Madam Selle de Maulde, late Canoness of the 
 Chapter of Bonbourg. He kept a store at Asylum 
 in partnership with Nancy Colin, formerly Abbe de 
 Sevigny, an Archdeacon of Tours. M. Blacon re- 
 turned to France and became a member of the 
 National Assembly. M. Colin went to San Domingo 
 and became a chaplain in the army of Toussaint 
 1 'Overture, whose surrender was obtained by the 
 treachery of General LeClerc (Bonaparte's general). 
 Colin fled to Charleston, S. C, where he died. James 
 Montule, a French baron, was captain of a troop of 
 horse in the King's service. At Asylum he was 
 superintendent of the clearings. His cousin, Madam 
 de Seybert, whose husband died in San Domingo, 
 lived near him in the upper part of the town. 
 
 John Becdelliere had a store. His partners were 
 the brothers, Augustine and Francis de La Roue, 
 one of whom had been in the police service in Paris, 
 the other a captain of infantry. They both returned 
 to France with Talleyrand before the breaking up 
 of the colony, and one of them became his private 
 secretary. M. Becdelliere returned to France in 
 1803. Dr. Lawrence Buzzard, a physician, who had 
 been a rich planter in San Domingo, came with his 
 wife, son and daughter, and settled in Asylum. 
 Afterwards went to Cuba, where he died. Mr. John 
 Brevost, a native of Paris, was interested with Mr. 
 Dulong in the settlement at Butternuts, N. Y. He 
 removed to Asylum where he became a farmer. In 
 January, 1801, he advertised in the "Wilkes-Barre 
 
HON. JOHN LAPORTE. 
 
 Son of Bartholomew Laporte, Sr. , 
 
 who was one of the French Refugees- 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 49 
 
 Gazette ' ' that he intends to open a school at Asylum 
 for teaching the French language. The price of 
 teaching a child between the age of ten and sixteen 
 years will be sixty bushels of wheat per year, to be 
 delivered at Newtown, Tioga, Asylum, or Wilkes- 
 Barre, at the place pointed out by the subscriber — 
 one-half every six months. His school at Asylum 
 proving a failure, he went to New Orleans, where 
 his wife and daughter established a flourishing 
 young ladies seminary. Peter Eegnier was an inn- 
 keeper at Asylum, when the settlement broke up 
 he returned to France where he remained two years- 
 He disposed of some property he had there and 
 transmitted a large sum of money to his partner in. 
 Philadelphia. He returned to America and found 
 that his partner had absconded to the West Indies,, 
 taking his money with him, leaving Regnier and his; 
 family destitute. He had good pluck and did not 
 give up in despair. In a letter to Judge Gore, he 
 says: "However, I keep up my spirits and trust 
 in Providence, the only hope I can rely on. I have 
 returned to this country with the intention never 
 to quit it again, being of the opinion there is not a 
 better one in the world. ' ' Mr. Aubrey, a blacksmith 
 at Asylum, went to Philadelphia for surgical aid to 
 remove a tumor from his neck, and remained there. 
 Mr. Beaulieu, who had been a captain in the French 
 army, married his wife in this country and remained 
 here, but where he resided after leaving Asylum is 
 unknown. Madame d'Autremont's oldest son, 
 Louis Paul, who returned to France with Talleyrand, 
 was an able man employed in government business. 
 He was sent on missions to Portugal and to England. 
 
50 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 He re-visited the United in 1832, but returned to 
 France, where he died. He invested considerable 
 sums of money in real estate in this country, but in- 
 vestments in "wild lands" seldom prove profitable 
 possessions. 
 
 On the breaking up of the colony at Asylum. 
 Madame d'Autremont with her two sons, went to 
 the Butternuts, N. Y., where they had formerly re- 
 sided, and soon after removed to Angelica, X. V.. 
 where some of her descendants still reside, (1916). 
 Here they were joined by Victor Dupont de Ne- 
 mours, an exile, who subsequently removed to Dela- 
 ware, where he and his brother established the 
 largest gun powder manufactory in the United 
 States, which is still conducted on an immense scale 
 by their descendants. Madame d'Autremont died 
 at Angelica, August 29th, 1809, aged 64 years. 
 Alexander Hubert, who married the daughter of 
 Major Oliver Dodge, died at Angelica, August 4th, 
 1857. They had ten children, all of whom are dead. 
 The other son, Augustine Francois Cecile, who mar- 
 ried Sarah Ann Stewart, also had ten children. She 
 died in Angelica in 1840, and he in 1860. The wife 
 of Alexander Hubert died in 1866, (January 12th.) 
 
 M. Charles Bue Boulogne, who had been the very 
 active agent of the colony at Asylum, was drowned 
 in attempting to ford Loyal Sock creek at Hills- 
 grove, July 20th, 1796, and was the first person 
 buried there, as stated on another page. 
 
 In May, 1795, the Duke de Rochefoucauld de Lian- 
 court, a French nobleman, visited the colony ami 
 gave a very full account of it in his "Journey of 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 51 
 
 Travels in North America." At the time of his 
 visit, he says: 
 
 "Asylum consisted of about thirty houses in- 
 habited by families from San Domingo, and from 
 France, by French artisans, and even by Americans. 
 Some inns (taverns) and two shops (stores) have 
 ' been established. Several town shares have been 
 put in very good condition, and the fields and gar- 
 dens begin to be productive. A considerable quan- 
 tity of ground has been cleared on the Loyal Sock 
 creek. The owner can either settle there himself 
 or intrust it to a farmer. The sentiment of the col- 
 onists is good. Each one follows his business — the 
 cultivator, as well as the inn keeper, or tradesman, 
 with as much zeal as if he had been brought up to 
 it. The real farmers who reside at Asylum live upon 
 the whole on very good terms with each other, be- 
 ing sensible that harmony is requisite to render 
 their situation comfortable and happy. They pos- 
 sess no considerable property, and their way of life 
 is simple. Mr. Talon lives in a manner somewhat 
 more splendid than the others, as he has to entertain 
 home seekers and visitors, and as he is obliged to 
 maintain a number of persons to whom his assist- 
 ance is indispensable. The price of the company's 
 lands at present is $2.50 per acre. That in the town 
 of Asylum fetches a little more. The bullocks which 
 are consumed at Asylum are generally brought from 
 the back settlements, but it is frequently found nec- 
 essary to send thither for them. The grain, which 
 is not consumed at Asylum, finds a market in 
 Wilkes-Barre, and it is transported there on the 
 river. In the same manner all kinds of merchandise 
 
52 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 are transported from Philadelphia to Asylum. Tiny 
 are carried in wagons as far as Harrisburg, and 
 thence by barges up the river. The freight amounts 
 in the whole to two dollars per hundred weight. 
 (The freight from Wilkes-Barre was 51 cents per 
 cwt). The salt comes from the salt houses at Gene- 
 see, N. Y. Flax is produced in the country about 
 Asylum. Maple sugar is made in great abundance. 
 Each maple tree is reputed to yield from two to 
 three pounds per year. Maple molasses and vinegar 
 are prepared here and sold abroad. A considerable 
 quantity of tar is made, and sold at four dollars per 
 barrel, containing 32 gallons. Day laborers are paid 
 five shillings per day. (Probably it was the "York" 
 shilling, worth 12^ cents, as it was the shilling in 
 general use at that time) . The manufacture of pot- 
 ashes has been commenced at Asylum, and it is con- 
 templated the brewing of malt liquors. A corn 
 mill and a saw mill are building on the Loyal Sock. 
 The new land company taught by the errors of 
 the former, will no doubt make it their principal 
 business to promote the prosperity of Asylum which 
 alone can in any considerable manner increase the 
 value of the land. The soil is tolerably good, and 
 the climate healthful. Almost all the ingredients 
 of a prosperous colony are found; in Asylum, and 
 afford room to hope that these great natural ad- 
 vantages will in time be improved for the Item lit 
 and prosperity of the colonists. It will be neces- 
 sary to construct new roads and repair old ones. 
 If these things be done, Asylum will soon be peo- 
 pled. Motives arising from French manners and 
 opinions have hitherto prevented even French fami- 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 53 
 
 lies from settling here. These are now in a great 
 measure removed, and if the company shall proceed 
 with judgment and prudence, as it is to be hoped, 
 there will scarcely remain in doubt that Asylum will 
 speedily become a place of importance. Its situa- 
 tion on the Susquehanna 200 miles from its source, 
 fits it in a peculiar manner for an emporium for the 
 inland trade. French activity supported with 
 money will certainly accelerate its growth, and this 
 in time, will convince the world that the enterprise, 
 assiduity of Frenchmen are equally conspicuous in 
 prosperous and adverse circumstances." 
 
 The Duke also gives a list of the principal French 
 residents at the time of his visit in 1795 as follows: 
 
 " (1st) M. de Blacon, Deputy for Dauphine in the 
 Constituent Assembly. Since quitting France he 
 has married Madamoiselle de Maulde, late canoness 
 to the chapter Bonbourg. They keep a haber- 
 dasher's shop. Their partner is M. Colin, formerly 
 Abbe de Sevigny, Archdeacon of Tours, and coun- 
 seiller and grand conseil. (2nd) M. de Montule, 
 late captain of a troop of horse, married to lady of 
 San Domingo, who resides at present at Pottsgrove. 
 (3rd) Madame de Seybert, a cousin to M. de Mon- 
 tule, and relict of a rich planter of San Domingo. 
 (4th) M. Bechdelliere, formerly a canon, now a 
 shop-keeper. His partners are the two Messrs. de 
 la Eoue, one of whom was formerly a petit gens d' 
 armes, and the other a captain of infantry. The 
 latter married a sister of Madame Seybert. (5th) 
 Mademoiselle de Bercy, who intends establishing an 
 inn on the road from Asylum to the Loyal Sock, 
 eight miles from the former place, whither she is 
 
54 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 on the point of removing with her husband. (6th) 
 M. Beaulieu, former a captain of infantry in the 
 French service who served in America during the 
 late war in the legion of Potonsky. He has remained 
 ever since in this country, has married an English 
 lady, and now keeps an inn. (7th) M. Buzzard, a 
 planter of San Domingo, and a physician in that 
 country, who has settled at Asylum with his wife, 
 daughter, son and some negroes, the remains of his 
 fortune. (8th) M. de Noailles, a planter of San Do- 
 mingo. (9th) M. Daudelot of Frenchcourte, late 
 an officer of infantry, who left France on account of 
 the Revolution, and arrived here destitute of prop- 
 erty, but was kindly received by Mr. Talon, and is 
 now engaged in agricultural pursuits with spirit 
 and success. (10th) M. du Petithouar, an officer 
 of the navy who, encouraged by the Constituent As- 
 sembly, and assisted by a subscription, embarked 
 in an expedition in quest of M. de la Perou|e. He 
 was detained on the coast of Brazil by the governor 
 of that colony, Fernando de Noriguez, and sent with 
 his crew to Portugal, where he was very ill-treated 
 by the Portugese government, stripped of all his 
 property, and only escaped further persecution by 
 fleeing to America, where he lives free and happy 
 without property, yet without want. He is em- 
 ployed in clearing about 200 or 300 acres of wood- 
 land. His sociable, mild, and truly original temper 
 and character are set off by a noble Simplicity of 
 manner. 
 
 "(11th) M. Nores, a young gentleman who em- 
 barked with M. de Petithouar and escaped with him 
 to this country. He formerly wore the Petit collet. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 55 
 
 (or little band which was formerly a distinguishing- 
 mark of the secular clergy in France) was a pupil 
 of M. de la Capelle, possessor of a small priory, and 
 now earns his subsistence by cultivating the ground. 
 " (12th) John Keating, an Irishman, and late cap- 
 tain of regiment of Welch. At the beginning of the 
 Eevolution he was in San Domingo where he pos- 
 sessed the confidence of the parties, but refused 
 the most tempting offers of the commissioners of 
 the Assembly; though his sentiments were truly 
 democratic. It was his choice and determination to 
 retire to America without a shilling in his pocket 
 rather than to acquire power and opulence in San 
 Domingo by violating his first oath. He is a man 
 of uncommon merit, distinguished abilities, extraor- 
 dinary virtue, invincible disinterestedness. His de- 
 portment is grave but affable. His advice and pru- 
 dence have proved extremely serviceable to M. 
 Talon in every department of his business. It was 
 he who negotiated the arrangements between 
 Messrs. Morris and Nicholson, and it may be justly 
 said that the confidence which his uncommon abili- 
 ties and virtues inspire enables him to adjust mat- 
 ters in dispute with much greater facility than most 
 other persons. (13th) M. Benand, a rich merchant 
 of San Domingo, has just arrived with his family 
 and a very considerable property preserved from 
 the wreck of an immense fortune. (14th) M. 
 Carles, a priest and cannon of Guernsey, who re- 
 tired to America with a small fortune, and who has 
 now settled at Asylum. He is an industrious and 
 much respected farmer. (15th) M. Brevost, a citizen 
 of Paris, celebrated for his benevolence. He was a 
 
56 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 member of all benevolent societies, treasurer of the 
 Philanthropic Society, and retired to America with 
 some property, a considerable part of which he ex- 
 pended on a settlement he attempted to establish 
 on the banks of the Chenango River, N. Y., but 
 which did not eventually succeed. He now culti- 
 vates his lot of ground on the Loyal Sock as if Ms 
 whole life had been devoted to the same pursuit, 
 and the cheerful serenity of a gentle, candid, phil- 
 osophical mind still attends him in his laborious re- 
 treat. His wife, and sister-in-law, who have also 
 settled here, share in his tranquility and happiness. 
 (16th) Madame d'Autremont, with her three chil- 
 dren. She is the widow of a steward of Paris. Two 
 of her sons are grown up. One was a notary, the 
 other a watch maker, but they have now become 
 hewers of wood, and tillers of the ground, and se- 
 cure by their zeal, spirit, politeness and unblem- 
 ished character the sympathy and respect of every 
 feeling mind. 
 
 ''Some families of artisans are also established at 
 Asylum and such as conduct themselves properly 
 earn great wages. This cannot be said of the 
 greater part of them. They, in general, are very 
 indifferent workmen, much addicted to drunken- 
 ness. In time they will be superseded by more 
 valuable men, and American families of a better 
 description will settle here, for those who reside at 
 present are scarcely worth keeping. 
 
 "One of the greatest impediments to the prosper- 
 ity of the settlement will probably arise from the 
 prejudice of some Frenchmen against the Ameri- 
 cans unless self-interest and reason should prove 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 57 
 
 the means of removing them. These are frequently 
 manifested with that inconsistent levity with which 
 Frenchmen decide on things and persons of the 
 greatest moment. Some of them vauntingly de- 
 clare that they will never learn the language of the 
 country or enter into a conversation with an Ameri- 
 can. Whether particular facts and occurrences can 
 justify this prejudice in regard to individuals, I will 
 not affirm, but certain it is that they can never 
 justify it in the latitude of general opinion. 
 
 "A conduct founded on such prejudices would 
 prove extremely hurtful to the interest of the colony, 
 the progress of which has already been retarded by 
 so many unfavorable obstacles that there is certainly 
 no occasion to create new ones by purposely excit- 
 ing the animosity of a people among whom the 
 colony has been formed, and who, in the judgment 
 of every impartial man, must be considered as in a 
 state of less degeneracy than many European 
 nations. 
 
 i i rphe rea j farmers who reside in Asylum live upon 
 the whole on very good terms with each other, be- 
 ing duly sensible that harmony is requisite to render 
 their situation comfortable and happy. They pos- 
 sess no considerable property and their way of life 
 is simple. M. Talon lives in a manner somewhat 
 more splendid, as he is obliged to entertain a num- 
 ber of persons, to whom his assistance is indispeu- 
 sable. It is to be wished and hoped that the whole 
 settlement may prove ultimately successful. A more 
 convenient spot might have been chosen, but not to 
 mention that all ex post facto judgments are unfair, 
 the present situation of the colony appearing so 
 advantageous as to warrant the most sanguine hopes 
 
58 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 of success. Industrial families, without whom no 
 settlement can prosper, must be invited to it, for it 
 must be considered that however polished its pres- 
 ent inhabitants may be, the gentlemen cannot so 
 easily dispense with the assistance of the artisan 
 and husbandman, as these can with that of the gen- 
 tleman. A' speedy adjustment of the present difli- 
 culties between Connecticut and Pennsylvania with 
 the estates contiguous to the lands of Asylum would 
 also prove a desirable and fortunate circumstance 
 for the colony. None but persons of indifferent 
 character are willing to settle on ground, the title to 
 which remains in dispute. Even the small num 
 of colonists we found between AVilkes-Barre and 
 Tioga, are by no means praiseworthy in their morals 
 and they are poor, lazy, drunken, quarrelsome, and 
 extremely negligent in the culture of their lands. 
 The valuable emigrants from Xew England who 
 should be encouraged to settle here, will certainly 
 not make their appearance till they can be sure of 
 cultivating their lands without opposition and re- 
 taining the undisturbed possession of their estates. 
 It is, therefore, of the greatest importance to the 
 company at Asylum that this weighty business 
 should be speedily and finally adjusted. When 
 that is accomplished, the company will undoubtedly 
 embrace the earliest opportunity of advertising the 
 whole million acres (they own). They will endeavor 
 to combine separate estates with each other by pur- 
 chasing the intervening lands. They will perceive 
 how advantageous and important it is to place 
 Asylum as it were in full activity by reconstructing 
 the roads already projected and commenced; by es- 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 59 
 
 tablishing a school; by inviting industrious settlers 
 and endeavoring to improve the breeds of horses 
 and cattle; in short, by encouraging useful estab- 
 lishments of every kind. 
 
 ' ' Everything in the settlement at present appears 
 in a precarious condition. The price of provisions 
 depends on a variety of fluctuating circumstances. 
 By the activity and prudence of certain individuals 
 the town is abundantly supplied with grain and 
 meat, and their honest economy keeps provisions at 
 a moderate price. But men of a less liberal way of 
 thinking have it also in their power to occasion 
 scarcity of the first necessaries of life, and raise their 
 price to a rate beyond all proportion to that of other 
 commodities. The information that I have been 
 able to collect relative to the state of agriculture, 
 however accurate at the present moment, can hardly 
 be thought sufficient for the direction of a planter 
 who should be inclined to settle here. The land 
 behind the town is tolerably good. That on the 
 banks of the river consists of excellent meadows, 
 laid out by those who settled here before the pres- 
 ent colonists, producing very good hay in consid- 
 erable quantities, and they are capable of still fur- 
 ther improvement. The price of the company's 
 lands is at present $2.50 per acre. Very little of it, 
 however, is sold. There is little doubt that the 
 price will raise to $10 per acre. Hitherto the grain 
 has suffered very little from the Hessian fly, or from 
 blight. The winter here lasts from four and a half 
 to five months. Both the oxen and cows are of the 
 very indifferent sort, and little attention has yet 
 been paid to the breeding of cattle. The land yields 
 
60 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 about 15 to 20 bushels of wheat per acre; 60 bus. of 
 corn, and three tons of hay per acre. In plowing, 
 they generally employ oxen. They are sometimes 
 driven to Philadelphia. ' ' 
 
 In concluding his account of Asylum, the Duke 
 says: "On our arrival at Asylum it was not our 
 intention to have stopped more than four days in 
 that place, but the pleasure of meeting with M. and 
 Madame de Blacons, a desire to obtain a knowledge 
 of the present state of the colony as well as the pros- 
 pects of future improvement, and the cordial recep- 
 tion we received from all its inhabitants, induced 
 us to add four days to our stay, and in the whole we 
 stopped twelve days. On Tuesday, the 2nd of June, 
 we took our departure, Messrs. de Blacons and 
 Dupetithouar joined our caravan. The latter, who 
 traveled on t'oot, set out the preceding morning." 
 
 The Duke was a copious, voluminous writer with 
 a vocabulary abundantly stocked with excellent 
 language, but it seems as if he might have made the 
 record in his journal just as clear in fewer words. 
 How T ever, we must honor him for giving us much 
 information about the place and the people, which 
 we would not have obtained from any other source. 
 
 As the Duke intended to publish an account of 
 his travels (which he did) he took extraordinary 
 pains to get all the reliable information about the 
 place, its people and their history that was possible. 
 
 M. Becdelliere, one of the store keepers, was evi- 
 dently generous and fond of children. He fre- 
 quently gave candy and raisins to Abraham Vander- 
 pool, a little boy four years old, which kindness was 
 never forgotten by the boy. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OP ASYLUM. 61 
 
 CHAPTEE X. 
 
 THE FIRST WEDDING. 
 
 THE town covered 300 acres. The first build- 
 ing erected after the dwellings were com- 
 pleted, was a theatre, and the next a small 
 log chapel. The first wedding was the marriage of 
 M. de Blacons, late deputy in the Constituent Assem- 
 bly, to Madame de Mauldee, late Canoness of Bom- 
 berg. She had fled from France with Abbe de 
 Sevigny. 
 
 Alexander Wilson, author of American Ornithol- 
 ogy, made a journey to Niagara Falls in 1804 and 
 stopped at Asylum, where he wrote his impressions 
 of the place in verse as follows : 
 
 "Gauls exiled and royalists, a pensive train, 
 
 Here raise the hut. and till the rough domain. 
 
 The way-worn pilgrim, to their fires receive, 
 
 Supply his wants, but at his tidings grieve. 
 
 Afflicting news forever on the wing, — 
 
 A ruined country and a murdered King. 
 
 Peace to their lone retreat, while sheltered here 
 
 May these deep shades to them be doubly dear, 
 
 And powr's proud worshippers wherever placed, 
 
 Who saw such grandeur ruined, and defaced 
 
 By deeds of virtue to themselves secure, 
 
 Those inborn joys that spite of Kings endure, 
 
 Though thrones, and states, from their foundation part, 
 
 The precious balm of a pure blameless heart." 
 
 Mr. Wilson may have been an excellent describer 
 of the feathered songsters and their songs, but he 
 was not a good poet, and might better have extolled 
 1 ' Gauls exiled royalists ' ' in prose. 
 
 Chevalier de Pontgibauld, one of the young 
 French officers who came over with General Lafay- 
 ette and served in the American army, visited 
 Asylum and wrote as follows : ' ' The most conspicu- 
 
62 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 ous spectacle was to see these Frenchmen fallen 
 from their greatness and now exercising some trade 
 or profession. One day I entered a shop and found 
 the proprietor to be a nobleman who had been a 
 n;ember of The Constituent Assembly." 
 
 When the purchase of the Schufeldt flats was con- 
 cluded the deed of conveyance commenced as fol- 
 lows: "Beginning at a remarkable rock on the 
 west side of the Susquehanna river, known as the 
 Standing Stone, and from thence, &c." The stone 
 stands in the edge of the river on the west side. 
 about one or two rods from shore. It is about 18 
 feet high on the upper side, and 23 feet on the lower, 
 and four feet thick. One corner has been broken 
 off. It is said to have been done by General Sulli- 
 van's army by firing a cannon ball at it when en- 
 camped on the opposite side of the river. There is 
 no doubt that the rock was loosened by some con- 
 vulsion of nature, slid from the top of the mountain, 
 struck on one end, sunk so deep into the mud and 
 gravel that the ice floods have not been able to move 
 it. 
 
 At the end of the street leading directly to the 
 river from the village, a wharf was built for load- 
 ing and unloading boats, as the river at that time 
 was the only public means of transportation. The 
 roads were so execrably bad no heavy loads could 
 be drawn on them, and oxen were used for teaming 
 more than horses, for the reason that they were 
 patient and slow to step over stumps and rocks, and 
 wade through the mud. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 63 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 DISCOURAGING OBSTACLES. 
 
 THERE is said to be a tradition in the d'Au- 
 tremont family that after they found the 
 title to their land at The Butternuts, N. Y., 
 worthless, that Alexander d'Autremont followed 
 Boulogne, who had gone to the West Indies on a 
 business trip. Alexander 's mission being to recover 
 their money. The vessel in which he, according to 
 tradition, sailed, encountered a furious storm and 
 was wrecked. He escaped to land but was attacked 
 by yellow fever and nearly died. As soon as he re- 
 covered he returned home, not having seen 
 Boulogne. The story, no doubt, is pure fiction and 
 there was never any such tradition in the d'Autre- 
 mont family, as they knew Boulogne was not to 
 blame. Land titles in the state of New York were 
 as precarious as in Pennsylvania. Mr. Boulogne 
 was the agent of Treat and Morris in selling their 
 lands. He had examined their patent and deed, and 
 believed their title was good. Alexander d'Autre- 
 mont did not charge Boulogne with deception and 
 dishonesty. They had been deceived by believing 
 the reports that Asylum was a prosperous place to 
 live and make money. In his letter to Mr. Boulogne, 
 dated July 20th, 1795, he says: 
 
 "Mr. Boulogne: 
 
 "Sir: We have received the news of your arrival here with 
 all the joy which you may heartily presume you could give us; 
 but our joy would have been more felt if the circumstances in 
 which we find ourselves would not force us to quit a place where 
 we have been so cruelly deceived, and so unhappy, and that in 
 the very moment we hear you have fixed your residence at 
 Asylum. 
 
 "From the very beginning of this letter you will say: 'It is 
 
64 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 the crying bird that writes to me; but could it be possible to 
 look on our situation with indifference, indebted as we are to 
 you, without foreseeing when we will be able to pay. In such 
 an horrid country as this, where we daily make an extravagant 
 expense by the high price of all kinds of provisions, and all that 
 without any benefit whatsoever, even success to our work; for 
 after having spent much money for the portage of our effects 
 on these lands we shall be obliged to transport them again to 
 the town on account of the impossibility in which we are to 
 live this winter in the woods for want of land in sufficient quan- 
 tity sowed even to provide for our cattle. 
 
 "In my last handed to you by Mr. Keating, I mentioned to 
 you that the clearing was going on very slowly, that Mr. d'Mon- 
 tule had made an undertaking above his strength, and that from 
 the way they were going on, it appeared we should have noth- 
 ing sowed this summer; my fears unluckily have been verified, 
 for on the whole tract there are only 10 acres cleared by Brown's 
 company of workmen, five of which belong to Mr. Montule, and 
 five to Mr. Brevost, the latter not even ready, the logs being 
 not yet burned. You'll be able to judge, and frightened at the 
 same time, of the obstacles the settlers have to overcome on 
 these new lands when you know that the clearing of an acre 
 cost to the company near 30 dollars. To give you an idea there- 
 of, you may readily calculate. There is a company of 10 men 
 who are at work since the beginning of May on Mr. de Larone's 
 land who will have nearly done in 15 days, and all that time to 
 clear 11 or 12 acres of ground. From that it appears to me that 
 Mr. de Larone's clearing will come to 36 dollars, thereabouts 
 per acre. Everybody here is disgusted. Everybody talks of 
 quitting; even Mr. de Montule, who says that if he could get 
 one or two shilling profit on his purchase per acre, he would 
 give up all idea of settling in this country. 
 
 "Come, sir! come quick, come to re-establish confidence, 
 for it is very low everywhere. Your arrival will doubtless cheer 
 many people. As for us, except for the pleasure of seeing you, 
 it is almost impossible that your residence here (our only wish 
 last spring) could make us support with patience our misfor- 
 tunes. It is high time not to trouble you any more of individuals 
 that have always weighed very heavily upon you without being 
 able to show you their gratitude. Don't believe that my com- 
 plaints, and the resolution that my family hath taken of quit- 
 ting forever this country, are the result of inconstancy or levity 
 of our minds; but come here very soon, see and judge for your- 
 self of our situation, and Mr. Brevost's is in the same resolution. 
 If I was alone, far from complaining of my situation, 1 would 
 laugh at it; but I have a mother who begins to be old, whom I 
 cannot leave to herself, therefore I pass my young days in an 
 occupation which will never give me a penny's profit. All that 
 I foresee for me is to be forever ruined, and remain in the im- 
 possibility of doing anything if I continue to stay on land that 
 cost $30 per acre to clear. 
 
CHARLES HOMET, JR., ' 
 Son of Charles Hornet, 
 who was one of the French Refugees. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 65 
 
 "Besides my personal sorrows, I must answer for a sum 
 due by the company to one Fuller for some wheat which hath 
 been delivered, and not paid to him. He hath obtained a writ 
 against me as having contracted with him. All I could obtain 
 was a delay which will be at an end the 18th of August, the sum 
 amounts to four pounds ($20.) Esqr. Gore hath in his hands for 
 60 to 70 dollars of your notes of hand. He remitted me a let- 
 ter which is here inclosed, which explains the matter. If you 
 have not sold your farm near Philadelphia, and if you have not 
 engaged a farmer, and if it could suit you to take my family as 
 farmers, I would accept with pleasure. 
 
 "Waiting for the pleasure of seeing you, or hearing from 
 you, I remain, x 1 
 
 "D'AUTREMONT." "] 
 
 Alexander d 'Autremont 's spelling is good. He 
 frequently uses " & " for ' ' and, ' ' which was a usage 
 quite general at his time. The letter from begin- 
 ning to end is friendly to Mr. Boulogne. If they 
 ever had a falling out it must have been after this 
 letter was written (which was the 20th of July,. 
 1795) for Mr. Boulogne was drowned July 20th,. 
 1796, just one year afterwards. This letter throws; 
 great doubt on the tradition that Alexander d 'Autre- 
 mont followed Boulogne to the West Indies to re- 
 cover money, and was there attacked with yellow 
 fever after being shipwrecked. The letter shows 
 clearly that the Duke de Rochefoucauld representa- 
 tion of affairs was entirely too rosy and prosperous. 
 
 In Mrs. Mary Mix Spalding's address, printed in 
 the "Reporter- Journal" of Towanda, Pa., some 
 years ago, it is said: "About the time Asylum was 
 founded, another company attempted a settlement 
 on the Chenango river a few miles above Bingham- 
 ton, N. Y., at a place called "The Butternuts." One 
 of their number, M. d 'Autremont, a man of consid- 
 erable wealth, contracted for a tract patented to W. 
 Morris containing 30,000 acres, upon which the set- 
 
66 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 tlement was made. Log houses were built, and 
 eight families moved upon the tract. The Indian 
 reservation was in their immediate neighborhood. 
 The Indians were friendly, and furnished them with 
 venison, bear meat and wild turkeys. Their sur- 
 roundings were unpleasant and they suffered many 
 privations. To add to their discouragement, M. 
 d'Autremont, on his way to Philadelphia, was 
 drowned while fording a river on horseback." (I 
 do not find this account of his death in any other 
 history of Asylum. I have been of the opinion that 
 he died in France; but as Mr. John W. Mix corres- 
 ponded with C. d'Autremont, Jr., a descendant of 
 Hubert, the statement may possibly be correct. 
 
 Mrs. Murray, in her history, says of Hubert d'Au- 
 tremont, as follows: "He was a Parisian royalist, 
 evidently belonging to a family of importance, as 
 evinced by his coat of arms and his intimacy with 
 such prominent Frenchmen as Talleyrand, Dupont, 
 and Baron Neville. Hubert is said to have been 
 guillotined early in the Eevolution. " 
 
 His widow, Marie Jeanne d'Ohet, with her three 
 sons, Louis Paul, aged 22 ; Alexander Hubert, 16, and 
 Augustus Francois Cecil, left France in 1792, their 
 royalist principles making it unsafe for them to re- 
 main there. In company with them came the fam- 
 ily of her sister, Madame Lefevre, and others. They 
 came to America and settled on land in Chenango 
 previously contracted for in France from William 
 W. Morris through his agent, Charles Felix Bue 
 Boulogne." 
 
 Mr. Craft, the historian, in his account is more 
 ■specific. He says: "Messrs. Malachi Treat and 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 67 
 
 William W. Morris secured the title to a tract of 
 several thousand acres of land in Otsego county, N. 
 Y., and gave to Mr. Boulogne a power of attorney 
 dated June 16, 1791, to sell, and a commission to re- 
 turn to Paris and dispose of land in such parcels as 
 he could to those who were contemplating to escape 
 the troubles of their own country by migrating to 
 this. Having disposed to several parties a large 
 part of this land, he sold to Madame d'Autremont 
 and Mr. Lefevre each 300 acres to be surveyed to 
 them in lots of 100 acres each. 
 
 In applying for this passport, Mr. Lefevre found 
 that he must divide his family. Half could come, 
 and half must stay. It was arranged that one son 
 and one daughter should accompany the father, and 
 the other son and daughter remain with the mother. 
 While waiting for the vessel to sail, the son who was 
 to accompany the father, sickened and died. Mr. 
 Lefevre then took the youngest daughter, Augus- 
 tine (afterwards Mrs. Huff), cut her hair close, and 
 dressed her in her brother's clothes, when the like- 
 ness was sufficiently close to the lost boy to answer 
 the description in the passport. Mr. Lefevre thus 
 taking both daughters and leaving the son with his 
 mother. While waiting at Havre he writes to his 
 wife expressing the weariness and loneliness of their 
 lives and adds "we are well. The two children 
 send you a thousand kisses. The little girls speak 
 every day of thee and their brother, and ask each 
 time if I am writing to you. I beg of you to embrace 
 my son. I talk every day of you to our little girls. ' ' 
 
 There were many disagreeable and vexatious de- 
 lays. One was the vessel drew so much water that 
 
68 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 she could not be gotten over the bar at Havre, ex- 
 cept with the favorable condition of a high tide. Mr 
 Lefevre again writes to his wife, June 11, 1792: 
 
 "We are in very great anxiety. I apprised you 
 in my last letter that we were to leave at the end of 
 the week. Sunday at noon, coming from Mass with 
 the children we learned through Mr. Boulogne that 
 we could not leave until a week from Tuesday — 
 eight days — on account that the tide did not rise 
 high enough." They sailed June 19th, 1792. On 
 the 12th of September, the parties being in Phila- 
 delphia, Mr. Boulogne, for a consideration of 5400 
 livres, executed a deed for 300 acres of land to Mrs. 
 d'Autremont, and for a like consideration a similar 
 deed to Mr. Lefevre, both of which were acknowl- 
 edged before the Associate Justices of the United 
 Supreme Court. The party, accompanied by Mr. 
 Boulogne, now set out for. their farms in the dense 
 unbroken forests of central New York. It was 
 about the first of October before they reached the 
 end of their journey. Owing to the lateness of the 
 season nothing could be done but build some kind 
 of shelter for themselves until spring. 
 
 In a bark covered, almost windowless log cabin, 
 ander whose single room was kitchen, dining room, 
 pantry, drawing room and parlor during the day, 
 and for the night divided by hanging up blanket3 
 into sleeping apartments, these two families, aggre- 
 gating seven persons, who had been accustomed to 
 the comforts and luxuries of a Parisian homo, and 
 unacquainted with the rigors of our northern climate 
 spent the winter of 1792-3. It was an experience 
 that was remembered with a shudder bv every one 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 69 
 
 who participated in it. The Indians from a near-by 
 reservation brought them provisions of various 
 kinds, especially game taken in the hunt, otherwise 
 they would have suffered from hunger. 
 
 In the spring Mr. Lefevre made himself a shelter 
 of sticks, bark and pine branches, while the d'Autre- 
 mont boys built adjoining sheds to enlarge the ac- 
 commodations of their little log house. But little 
 could be done towards making clearings or getting 
 in crops for the supply of their wants, and so passed 
 the summer of 1793. Four other purchasers from 
 Boulogne came this year. In the spring of 1794, 
 Louis Paul d'Autremont went to Philadelphia to 
 see if some more suitable place could not be obtained 
 for their settlement. He stopped enroute at Asylum 
 and made known to Mr. Talon the condition of his 
 mother's and uncle's families. It was said of him 
 that he "was among the first twenty-three refugees 
 who visited Asylum that year looking for homes. 
 Louis Paul d'Autremont at this time was about 20 
 years old, could speak English, and was among the 
 handsomest and most attractive men of his time. 
 Mr. Talon, finding they wanted to come, sent a 
 durham boat to The Butternuts and brought the 
 families down to Asylum, where they arrived early 
 in the summer of 1794. About the time of their ar- 
 rival at Asylum, Mrs. Lefevre and the remaining 
 son came over and joined her husband and the other 
 children, and so the family, which had been sep- 
 arated on the banks of the Seine after two years of 
 great anxiety, solicitude and suffering, were re- 
 united on the banks of the Susquehanna. 
 
 When the Duke Rochefoucauld visited Asylum in 
 
70 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 1795, he speaks of Madame d'Autremont as being 
 the widow of a steward at Paris, but does not state 
 the manner of his death. Mr. Lefevre, having sold 
 his lands at The Butternuts, continued to reside at 
 Asylum and near vicinity until the end of his life, 
 and until prevented by the infirmities of age, con- 
 tinued to keep an excellent hotel. 
 
 After the abandonment of the colony at Asylum, 
 Mr. Lefevre moved over the river and established 
 his hotel on what is now called Lime Hill. Tt has 
 generally been spoken of as located at Standing 
 Stone, a mile or two farther up the river. His house 
 became celebrated for its delightful table. Travel- 
 lers up and down the river always tried to make his 
 house their stopping place in order to get something 
 good to eat, properly cooked, and clean beds. 
 
 Anthony Lefevre died February 1, 1830, his wife, 
 Marie G. Lefevre, died August 23, 1834. These are 
 the records on their tomb stones in the cemetery at 
 Wyalusing, where they were buried, and are no 
 doubt correct. Some writers have given different 
 dates from these. 
 
 In 1795, Talleyrand, after viewing other places of 
 interest, visited Asylum. Two de la Roue brothers, 
 and Louis Paul d'Autremont, now 23 years of age, 
 accompanied him to France. It is said that for a 
 while he was Talleyrand's private secretary. He 
 continued to reside in Paris and Chantilly, married, 
 had one daughter-, but no sons. It is not known in 
 what business, except that it was honest and profita- 
 ble. Such was the unnatural state of affairs in 
 Paris that an espionage was kept on every one 
 whether royalist or Republican. Though he wrote 
 frequently to his mother and brothers, he was care- 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 71 
 
 fnl not to disclose anything about himself, lest his 
 letter should be purloined and his life endangered. 
 He did not want it to be known that he was a native 
 of France. In a letter to his mother, he says : "To 
 avoid anything disagreeable, I pass here as a French 
 Canadian and have changed the architecture of my 
 name to Dautrimonth. " This was the name to 
 which he had them address their letters. He ex- 
 pressed the deepest love for his mother, and interest 
 in the welfare of his brothers by sending them money 
 to be invested in real estate. Only once did he tell 
 them of reverses and losses, from which he soon re- 
 covered. He invested several thousand dollars in 
 lands at Butternuts, which were lost in the wreck of 
 the land speculation. He also bought lands in other 
 parts of New York and in the state of Louisiana, 
 but his land purchases were unfortunate, as were 
 those of his mother and brothers. He was a man 
 of fine personal appearance and considerable ability 
 for public affairs. He was sent by the French gov- 
 ernment on missions to England and to Portugal. 
 He visited his relatives in this country in 1832, and 
 after remaining eighteen months, returned to 
 France, where he died. 
 
 Madame d'Autremont and her two sons remained 
 at Asylum until the colony disbanded, then they 
 first stopped for a short time at Tioga Point 
 (Athens), and then moved to their old home at But- 
 ternuts, thence to Pittsfield, near Cooperstown, and 
 finally to Angelica, N. Y. In 1806, Mrs. d'Autre- 
 mont bought a piece of land on the Genesee at 
 Angelica, N. Y., which she called the "Ketreat, " to 
 which she removed with her son, Alexander, and 
 
72 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 his family, and her son, Augustus, and where she 
 was soon joined by her sister, Marie Claudine, and 
 where a number of distinguished Frenchmen had 
 settled, among whom were some of the Duponts, 
 who afterwards removed to Delaware and became 
 the most extensive powder makers in the United 
 States. 
 
 When the d'Autremonts returned to The Butter- 
 nuts they found adverse claimants for the lands 
 they had bought of Treat & Morris, through their 
 agent, Boulogne, to whom they had given a power 
 of attorney. Treat, one of the proprietors, was 
 dead; Boulogne was dead, and Morris declared that 
 they had never given him any authority to sell their 
 lands, and that he had never paid them any money. 
 Boulogne had deposited the power of attorney with 
 a notary in Paris and it could not be produced in 
 court. After three or four years contention, the 
 d'Autremonts sold their deeds for a small sum, hav- 
 ing lost several thousand dollars. Evidently. Mor- 
 ris was dishonest. Mr. Boulogne could not have 
 been fraudulently selling his lands for two or three 
 years in France and America without Morris find- 
 ing it out, and vending him to prison. It was only 
 after the witnesses to the power of attorney were 
 dead and Boulogne was dead, that he denied the 
 sale. 
 
 Madame d'Autremont died at Angelica, N. Y., 
 August 29th, 1809, at the age of 64 years, and is 
 buried in the cemetery at that place. Her son, 
 Alexander, died at the same place August 4th, 1857. 
 His wife, Abigail (Dodge) d'Autremont, also died 
 there January 12th, 1866. They had 10 children. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 73 
 
 Her youngest son, Augustus, went to Wilmington, 
 Del., and was employed by the Duponts. In 1816, he 
 married Sarah Ann Stewart .of New Castle, Del. He 
 lived at Angelica and Friendship, N. Y. They had 
 10 children. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE LEFEVERE AND PREVOST FAMILIES. 
 THE HOMETS AND LAPORTES. 
 
 (HAS. FELIX BUE BOULOGNE had studied 
 law, been admitted to the bar in Paris. When 
 ^the American Revolution broke out, he was 
 one of the company of young Frenchmen who 
 came over with General Lafayette and volunteered 
 their services in the army of the United States and 
 served to the end of the war. Having become pro- 
 ficient in our language and made acquaintance with 
 our people, he did not return to France with the 
 others. He saw that there were greater opportuni- 
 ties for doing business and making money in 
 America than in Europe and remained here. He 
 was an active, prompt, business man. Mr. Craft 
 says of Boulogne: "In the early days of Asylum 
 he conducted the greater part of the correspondence 
 with the Americans, and seemed to be the general 
 manager of the business." In the transaction of 
 the outdoor business he often traveled long distances 
 from home. It was when on one of these missions 
 down in Sullivan county, below the Forks, that he 
 was drowned in Loyal Sock, which was at flood 
 stage, as we have stated elsewhere. That the 
 d'Autremonts never blamed him for the imperfect 
 title of the land he sold to them is proven by the 
 
74 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 friendly letter written to him by Alexander d'Autre- 
 ruont, only a year before his death, of which men- 
 tion has been made. 
 
 Boulogne and Adam Hoops were the two men 
 selected by the company to explore northern Penn- 
 sylvania and select the place for settlement, and to 
 the former was given a letter of credit for any sum 
 of money he might need in preparing the business 
 on which they were sent. The place selected was 
 entirely satisfactory to their employers. There is 
 no evidence against his honesty that would be re- 
 ceived in a court of justice. 
 
 Louis I. Beaulieu was formerly a captain in the 
 French army, he resigned his commission, came to 
 America, joined the legion of Pulaski under Lafay- 
 ette, and after the war was over, remained in the 
 country whose independence he had helped to 
 achieve. During his service he was taken prisoner 
 at Savannah, 9th of October, 1779, and was ex- 
 changed; was severely wounded at Charleston, S. 
 C, May 12th, 1780, after the close of the war he 
 married an English woman, and kept an inn at 
 Asylum. 
 
 Madame d'Autremont had three brothers and 
 three or more sisters by the name of d'Ohet. One 
 of her sisters, Marie Genevieve d'Ohet, was born in 
 1752; married Anthony Bartholomew Lefeyre, to 
 whom were born two sons and two daughters. As 
 before stated, one son died in Prance just before 
 they were ready to sail. The other son, Alexander, 
 after coining to America, enlisted in the United 
 States army in the war of 1812, and died of sickness 
 at Carlisle, Pa. Cecelia, one of the daughters of 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OP ASYLUM. 75 
 
 Anthony Lefevre, married John Anthony Prevost 
 of Lime Hill, in 1815. Mr. Prevost was born in 
 Paris, September 23rd, 1777, and at the age of 23 
 came to this country in August, 1800. Asylum at 
 that time was full of activity, but it is not known 
 that Mr. Prevost visited the place then. He came 
 to Angelica in 1809, and superintended the farm 
 and garden of Judge Church while the Judge was 
 visiting England. Two of Prevost 's brothers were 
 soldiers in Bonaparte's army and in the Eussian 
 campaign, and never returned. On a business trip 
 traveling on horseback, he came to Lime Hill, Pa., 
 where he became acquainted with Cecelia Lefevre, 
 whom he afterwards married. Except for a short 
 time in Philadelphia, they lived on Russell Hill, 
 Wyoming county, Pa. 
 
 He had been a florist in Paris, and on Russell Hill 
 his greenhouse was filled with beautiful flowers and 
 plants so rare that people came miles to see their 
 brilliant coloring, and scent their sweet fragrance. 
 He had a grapery, and always made wine enough to 
 sell to stage passengers and travelers. At the re- 
 quest of the passengers the stage always stopped at 
 his house, and he would come out with bottle and 
 glasses to sell them the pure juice of the vine. Three 
 different times the writer was a passenger in the 
 stage that stopped there. His price for wine was 
 high, but no more than tavern keepers charged. 
 
 He died April 30th, 1868, at the age of 90 years. 
 His wife died at their home on Russell Hill, May 8th, 
 1876. Three children were born unto them: Ed- 
 ward, who inherited the homestead and whose de- 
 scendants are among the best families in Wyoming 
 
76 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 county. Angelique, who married William Mix, Esq., 
 of Towanda. Theophilus Prevost died at the age 
 of 55 years. Augustine, daughter of Anthony 
 Lefevre, married John Huff, and lived on Lime Hill. 
 They had no children. 
 
 The youngest of the d'Ohet sisters, was Marie 
 Claudine, born 1758. In early life she entered a 
 school for nuns in Paris, where she continued until 
 in the madness of the Revolution the religious es- 
 tablishments were broken up, and the estates of the 
 church sequestered to public use. Miss d'Ohet went 
 to Nantes, and from there in 1806 she sailed for New 
 York, and from there went directly to her sister, 
 Mrs. d'Autremont, in Angelica, N. Y., where her re- 
 maining days were spent, and where she died Jan- 
 uary 28th, 1810, and was buried in the cemetery at 
 Angelica. 
 
 Louis Paul d'Autremont, in searching for rela- 
 tives in France, found that his father's three 
 brothers were dead, and could find no near relatives 
 living. One cousin, Auguste d'Autremont, was a 
 second lieutenant in the army. 
 
 The letters of Louis Paul to his mother and 
 brothers were numerous and affectionate. One of 
 them is here given. 
 
 "Paris, July 18th, 179S. 
 "I always begin my letters with a reproach, or at least, a 
 complaint. Why is it that I have not received letters from you 
 for five months. I know that circumstances are anything but 
 favorable for frequent communications. So many vessels do 
 not reach their destination. Even those that escape the danger 
 of being taken rarely escape the fear of the loss of letters. I 
 wrote you about six weeks ago by M. Borneyville, vice consul 
 at Boston. Today I take advantage of the departure of M. 
 Gerry, one of our commissioners, to send you this. I will not 
 speak to you of political affairs. In your solitude they would 
 have little attraction for you. I will abstain then, from speak- 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 77 
 
 ing of them. I have plenty of things to tell you of concerning 
 myself to fill this paper. I have to tell you of a little business 
 I have just finished, and which will require for its entire con- 
 clusion the good will- and attention of my dear Alexander. I 
 have just bought of Duvernot all of his best lands in Chenango 
 that is to say, all that belonged to him. I have made a bargain 
 with him for a thousand acres of land. I have my choice every- 
 where. All the clearings, even the mill belongs to me. You 
 will say: But why this new purchase — what does this new 
 project mean? In two words, my dear, I will explain to you. 
 It is not well demonstrated to me yet that America is not the 
 best country in the world. It is the one without dispute where 
 one can be free and tranquil. After all that the late papiere 
 of France must have told you, you must perceive that the great- 
 est that can happen to a man is that neither good nor evil over- 
 take him. According to this manner of thinking, which I share 
 with many others, I must think of my future. I have bought 
 these thousand acres that in every possible case I may have 
 refuge. My intention is to give 200 acres to Alexander for a 
 wedding present if he marries. 
 
 "My substance (Capital) is not considerable (not rich), but 
 it will permit me to live by becoming a farmer again and, no 
 matter how small it is, Alexander, Auguste and you shall share 
 it. Write to me at length and more of your country. 
 
 "Adieu. I love and embrace you as mother and friend." 
 
 (I have omitted the portions of Ms letter relating 
 only to business, and giving directions about the 
 lands be bad bougbt and proposed to buy.) 
 The Duke de la Rochefoucauld says: 
 "M. W. Prevost, he had been a citizen of Paris, 
 celebrated there for his benevolence and member- 
 ship in benevolent societies. He came to America 
 with considerable property, a considerable part of 
 which he expended on a settlement which he at- 
 tempted to establish on the banks of the Susque- 
 hanna above Binghamton, but was not successful, 
 and from thence came down to Asylum." Mr. 
 Craft says that "M. W. Prevost, while on horseback, 
 attempted to ford the Loyal Sock, greatly swollen 
 by recent rains, was drowned. His body was re- 
 covered, brought to Asylum, and buried in the ceme- 
 
78 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 tery on Broad street." It is evident that Mr. Cra£1 
 must be mistaken. Mrs. Murray, and the other 
 writers, do not mention it. It was Boulogne who 
 was drowned in the Loyal Sock. 
 
 Charles Hornet, Sr., had been a steward in the 
 household of King Louis XVI, and fled when the 
 misfortune came upon his sovereign. In the same 
 vessel in which he crossed the Atlantic was a Miss 
 Schillinger, who had been one of the waiting maids 
 of the Queen, Marie Antionette. The King's stew- 
 ard and the Queen's waiting maid had known each 
 other in Paris, and became better acquainted during 
 the voyage, and although she was ten years his 
 senior, they were married soon after their arrival 
 in this country. They lived in New Jersey for about 
 one year, and then moved to Asylum and settled a 
 few miles back from the river on a place near where 
 the village of New Era is now located, and where 
 preparations were being made for the reception of 
 the dethroned King and Queen of France in case 
 they were allowed to come. Mr. Hornet remained 
 one year at New Era, and then bought several lots 
 of the Asylum Company and moved on them. When 
 the settlement was abandoned, Mr. Hornet and Bar- 
 tholomew Laporte, Sr., bought a large part of the 
 land which it occupied. Mr. Hornet's first wife 
 (Theresa Schillinger)) died January 3rd, 18l!.*k 
 Their children were Charles, Francis X., Harriet 
 and Joseph. In 1827, Mr. Hornet married Cynthia 
 Sickler, by whom he had one daughter, Lydia. Mr. 
 Hornet died in 1838, at the age of 70 years, and is 
 buried with his first wife in the cemetery beside the 
 Methodist Church at Frenchtown. Although most 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 79 
 
 of the exiles at Asylum were Catholics and had a 
 small chapel and services, Mr. Hornet joined the 
 Methodist Church at Wysox. 
 
 Bartholomew Laporte was born in Tulle, now in 
 the province of Correze, France, in 1758. In 1776, 
 he emigrated to Spain and settled at Cadiz, where 
 he became a prosperous wine merchant, and had ac- 
 cumulated a considerable fortune when the Spanish 
 government issued a decree banishing all French 
 residents, and confiscating their property, which 
 left him almost penniless. At Marseilles, he became 
 acquainted with Talon and came with him to 
 America, as has already been related in another 
 place. If he ever followed the sea as some accounts 
 state, it must have been before he engaged in the 
 wine business. 
 
 In 1797, he was married at Asylum to Elizabeth 
 Franklin. Their only child, John Laporte, was 
 born at As} T lum, November 4th, 1798. At the break- 
 ing up of the settlement, Mr. Laporte was empow- 
 ered by the Asylum Company to lease the French 
 holdings for one year, and eventually he became the 
 owner of a large part of Asylum. He died Feb. 11th. 
 1836. His wife died May 5th, 1852. Their only 
 child, the Hon. John Laporte, was twice elected to 
 Congress, where he served for two terms of two 
 years each, and afterwards served as Surveyor Gen- 
 eral of Pennsylvania. He had previously served as 
 County Auditor, been a member of the Legislature 
 for five years, (being Speaker of the House one 
 year.) He was also one of the Associate Judges of 
 Bradford County. In person he was very large — 
 about six feet high and weighing 300 pounds. He 
 
80 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 died in Philadelphia, August 22nd, 1862. His first 
 wife, Matilda Chamberlain, daughter of Jabez 
 Chamberlain, died August 5th, 1838. On Novem- 
 ber 28th, 1840, he married Eliza Bendle. They had 
 one child, Matilda Jane. By his first wife he had 
 three children, Bartholomew, born January 5th, 
 1823, Elizabeth, born November 24th, 1825, Samuel 
 McKean, born February 25th, 1832. 
 
 The Hon. John Laporte built the brick house 
 standing on the corner of Main and Lombard streets, 
 Towanda, and later the property and residence of 
 the late Dr. Henry C. Porter. Mr. Laporte had 
 lived in the house for some time previous to his 
 death. He had been a resident of Towanda for a 
 number of years, being engaged in the banking busi- 
 ness with Gordon P. Mason and B. S. Eussell, and 
 after the retirement of Mr. Russell, the firm's name 
 was Laporte & Mason. There being no state banks 
 in Towanda at that time, their business was very 
 large. The writer attended Mr. Laporte 's funeral 
 in Towanda. The casket was placed on benches on 
 the sidewalk in front of his house, and it seemed as 
 if all the people of Towanda passed by to take the 
 last look at their departed citizen. He was taken 
 to Asylum for burial. 
 
 Antoine Lefevre was the keeper ox a, fashionable 
 cafe in Paris, his wife being the sister of Madame 
 d'Autremont. Besides his wife, his family consisted 
 of one son and two daughters. Becoming alarmed 
 at the condition of affairs in Paris, he disposed of 
 his business and, in company with his sister-in-law, 
 Madame d'Autremont, came to America. He was 
 only allowed to bring a part of his family with him. 
 
FRANCIS X HOMET 
 Son of Charles Hornet, Sr. 
 a Frenoh refugee. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 81 
 
 The government authorities being desirous of stop- 
 ping emigration by keeping a part of every family 
 as hostages for the return of those who departed. 
 His passport included himself and son as stated in 
 preceding pages. While waiting at Havre for a ves- 
 sel his son was taken sick and died. He then dressed 
 one of his daughters in his son's clothes and cut her 
 hair so that she answered the description in the pass- 
 port so closely as to escape detection. His wife and 
 daughter soon after made their escape. 
 
 They first settled at The Butternuts, where 
 Madame d'Autremont settled at first, and from there 
 both families removed to Asylum, where during its 
 continuance they kept an inn. After its abandon- 
 ment they moved over the river to Lime Hill, Pa. 
 Here they kept an excellent house of entertainment,, 
 where clean beds, and cleanly kept chambers and. 
 well furnished tables, with finely cooked food, were' 
 long remembered by their guests who traveled up 
 and down the river and always planned to make this 
 their stopping place if possible. Both Antoine 
 Lefevre and his wife are buried in the cemetery at 
 Wyalusing. 
 
 Two of their daughters lived to maturity. One 
 married John Prevost and lived on Eussell Hill, 
 Wyoming county. The other married John Huff 
 and lived on Frenchtown mountain, east side of the 
 river. Mrs. Huff was the little girl whom her father 
 brought over disguised in her brother's clothes. 
 Both these ladies lived to be past 90 years of age, 
 and could remember many of the events that trans- 
 pired in the streets of Paris at the beginning of the 
 Revolution. 
 
82 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 The continuance of the Asylum settlement was 
 less than ten years, but the Frenchmen set their 
 American neighbors about them the example of bet- 
 ter houses and roads, better gardens and better til- 
 lage, more careful surroundings with flowers and 
 shrubs, fruit trees and nut trees, courage in adver- 
 sity and polite, courteous manners. 
 
 In 1796 there were nearly fifty houses, twenty- 
 nine names on the tax list, and from one hundred 
 and fifty to two hundred inhabitants. 
 
 During the continuance of the colony, one person 
 committed suicide, and several were killed by acci- 
 dent, or died from sickness. When the French came 
 to Asylum there was not a post route, or postomce, 
 in Bradford county. The publishers of newspapers 
 distributed them by private express. The people 
 at Asylum sent an express weekly to Philadelphia, 
 the postman traveling on horseback, and this service 
 was continued during the greater part of their stay. 
 
 Under the controlling influence of Robespierre, 
 the National Assembly, had issued a decree com- 
 manding all emigrants to return under penalty of 
 liaving their estates confiscated. "When the strong 
 liand of Napoleon Bonaparte assumed power, all 
 Frenchmen were invited to return, and the restora- 
 tion of their estates was promised. The postman 
 ivho brought the glad news to Asylum waved his hat 
 ;and shouted the tidings to all he met until he be- 
 came hoarse. The colonists were rapturous with 
 joy. Men hugged and kissed each other to the pro- 
 found astonishment of American beholders. Some 
 days were spent in feasting and then most of them 
 commenced making preparations to leave the Penn- 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 83 
 
 sylvania woods for their beloved France. They did 
 not all go at once, but returned across the ocean as 
 fast as they could dispose of their property and ob- 
 tain the means. They returned on the same route 
 by which they came — down the river in boats to 
 Catawissa, and from thence by land to Philadelphia. 
 
 Only two (Mr. Hornet and Mr. Laporte) remained 
 at Asylum. Mr. Lefevre moved across the river to 
 Lime Hill, as has already been stated. The last land 
 company in which de Noailles, Talon and others 
 were interested did not prove so successful, as had 
 been anticipated and was dissolved in 1808, and the 
 lands deeded to Archibald McCall, John Ashley and 
 Thomas Ashley in trust for the Asylum Company. 
 
 On the 4th of March, 1843, the lands remaining 
 unsold, amounting from ten to twenty thousand 
 acres, were sold to "William Jessup of Susquehanna 
 county, who subsequently conveyed the same to 
 Michael Meylert of Laporte, Pa. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE FORMATION OF ASYLUM TOWNSHIP AND THE 
 
 FRENCH SETTLERS WHO REMAINED AS 
 
 PERMANENT RESIDENTS. 
 
 IN November, 1814, the township of Asylum was 
 taken from the township of Wyalusing which, 
 up to that time, had extended on both sides 
 of the river from the Sheshequin township line down 
 to Wyoming county line, and southward to Sullivan 
 county, at that time Lycoming county. When first 
 formed, Asylum township comprised within its 
 boundaries all the territory which now constitutes 
 the townships of Towanda, Monroe, Terry, Asylum, 
 Wilmot and Albany. The voting place was fixed at 
 the house of Jonathan Terry, the first settler in Ter- 
 rytown after the Indian invasion. 
 
 The name Asylum, or "Azilum," (as the French 
 pronounced it) had been given by the French exiles 
 to their settlement at Frenchtown as a place of 
 refuge. 
 
 The township was not formed and named until 
 about twelve years after their settlement had as a 
 village been broken up and nearly all the residents 
 departed. 
 
 BAETHOLOMEW LAPORTE, SR. 
 
 Unlike his friend and neighbor, Charles Hornet, 
 Senior, (who was very sedate) Bartholomew La- 
 porte was talkative and inclined to be humorous. 
 
 84 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 85 
 
 In describing his fall from a hay stack, he said: "Me 
 slippee ; me snatch-ee ; me no catch-ee ; me come down 
 co-whop-pee ; dam-me-me ! ' ' 
 
 The following was related by William Terry of 
 Terry town: 
 
 "I had an odd ox, and was desirous of obtaining a 
 mate for him. I was told that Bartholomew La- 
 porte, Sr., had an ox for sale, and went to see him. 
 The old gentleman took me to the field where the ox 
 was pasturing. He was a fine animal, in excellent 
 condition, and the price was reasonable. I consid- 
 ered myself a good judge of cattle. I asked no 
 questions, counted out the money, and drove the ox 
 over to Terrytown. Just as I got home, I met my 
 brother, Nathaniel, who said: 'Your ox has one 
 blind eye, did you know it?' I replied: 'Do you 
 suppose I would buy an ox without looking him 
 over f ' 
 
 "The blind eye was on the right side of the ox's 
 head, and I remembered that the old gentleman took 
 me into the field on the left hand side of the ox, and 
 as he fed along nipping off the grass and we follow- 
 ing, the old gentleman kept him turned away from 
 us so that I did not see his right side at all. The 
 blind eye did not lessen his value for work or for 
 beef." 
 
 Bartholomew Laporte had a brother who was a 
 sailor, and who visited him at Asylum, although 
 there were no railroads or stage lines to bring him 
 from New York. 
 
 Bartholomew Laporte, 1st; born in France 1758; 
 died February 11, 1836. Married Elizabeth Frank- 
 lin (born in England), December 11, 1797. They 
 
86 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 had an only child, John, born November 4, 1798, 
 died August 22, 1862. 
 
 John Laporte was twice married ; first to Matilda, 
 daughter of Dr. Jabez Chamberlain and Irene Gil- 
 bert, February 28, 1822. 
 
 Second wife, Eliza Bendle, by whom he had one 
 daughter, Matilda Jane, born October 24, 1841, died 
 1871. The children of John Laporte and Matilda 
 Chamberlain were : 
 
 Bartholomew, born January 5, 1823, died Septem- 
 ber 15, 1889. Married Emily Terry, daughter of 
 William Terry of Terrytown, July 31, 1845. Chil- 
 dren of Bartholomew Laporte and Emily Terry, as 
 follows : 
 
 George, born February 14, 1846. 
 
 John W., born July 25, 1856, died February 6, 
 1886. 
 
 Nancy M., born May 14, 1859, died February 18, 
 1896. 
 
 George Laporte, married Amanda Piatt, January 
 17, 1877. He died September 10, 1903. His chil- 
 dren are as follows : 
 
 Emily G., born November 25, 1877. 
 
 Nellie M., born September 14, 1879. 
 
 Edith J., born October 24, 1881, died July 23, 1898. 
 
 Emily G. Laporte, married J. Garfield Kerrick Oc- 
 tober 2, 1901, and to them were born children as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 John Laporte, October 9, 1904, died November 8, 
 1904. 
 
 Eleanor E., August 6, 1908. 
 
 Nancy M. Laporte, daughter of B. Laporte, 2nd, 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 87 
 
 married Sidney Bovingdon, July 25, 1889, and died 
 February 18, 1896. She left children as follows: 
 
 John L., born June 29, 1890. 
 
 George B., born January 23, 1893. 
 
 Paul S., born March 20, 1894. 
 
 Nan, born January 23, 1896. 
 
 Elizabeth, daughter of John Laporte and Matilda 
 Chamberlain, born November 24, 1825, died January 
 25, 1885. 
 
 Samuel McKean, born February 25, 1832, died 
 April 14, 1896. 
 
 Elizabeth, married Charles F. Welles, Jr., Novem- 
 ber 27, 1843, at Asylum, lived at Athens; their chil- 
 dren were: 
 
 Frederick Laporte. 
 
 Eleanor H. 
 
 John C. 
 
 Louise S., married Millard P. Murray. 
 
 Robert H., died February 12, 1903. 
 
 Elizabeth Franklin. 
 
 Henry Fuller. 
 
 Mary. 
 
 Jessie. 
 
 Mrs. Louise Welles Murray has a fine literary 
 taste and is the author of an excellent history en- 
 titled ' ' Story of Some French Refugees at Azilum. ' ' 
 
 Bartholomew Laporte, 2nd, grandson of Bartholo- 
 mew, 1st, was a man of more than ordinary ability. 
 He was superior to his father as a public speaker. 
 Lie and George Landon, when on the political stump, 
 had no superiors as orators and debaters in the 
 county. He was three times elected to the Pennsyl- 
 
88 A SHORIT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 vania Legislature, and was a candidate for Congress 
 and was defeated by Joseph Powell, a Towanda mer- 
 chant. Nothing was alleged against his ability or 
 could truthfully be said against his integrity. The 
 sole cause of his defeat was because being a farmer, 
 he had joined the Patrons of Husbandry, or the 
 Grange. The country merchants were prejudiced 
 against the Grangers because they bought a part of 
 their supplies directly from the manufacturers at 
 wholesale, and some of both political parties com- 
 bined against him. 
 
 Charles F. Welles, Jr., was a large, fine looking 
 man, and exceedingly able. Studied land survey- 
 ing; made a tour in the west; returned and kept a 
 store at Welles 's Ferry, near Sugar Run; was at the 
 same time owning a half interest in a store kept by 
 John Morrow in Quick's Bend. He nearly lost his 
 fortune in building a railroad, which could not pay 
 him when the work was completed. 
 
 CHAELES HOMET, SR., AND DESCENDANTS. 
 
 Charles Hornet, Sr., was born in Paris, 1769; mar- 
 ried 1793, Maria Theresa Schillinger ; died June 3, 
 1823. 
 
 Children — Charles, born May 4, 1794; married 
 Lucy Stevens, September 24, 1817. She was the 
 daughter of Jonathan Stevens, and was born Aug- 
 ust 20, 1799, and died March 3, 1851. To them were 
 born eight sons and one daughter, Theresa, who 
 married Philemon Stone of Wyalusing township. 
 Charles, Jr., died in Asylum, August 20, 1864. 
 
 Harriet T., the only daughter of Charles, Sr., was 
 born March 2, 1801, married Simon, son of the Hon. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 89 
 
 Jonathan Stevens, October 17, 1822, and lived in 
 Standing Stone, where she died October 8, 1847. To 
 them were born two sons and three daughters. 
 
 Francis X., second son of Charles Hornet, Sr., was 
 born on the old homestead in Asylum, April 5, 1798; 
 married Lucy Jane Dodge, a grand-daughter of 
 Major Oliver Dodge of Terrytown, June 24, 1828. 
 They had no children. They lived and died on the 
 old Hornet homestead. She died April 19, 1884. 
 He died January 27, 1890. 
 
 Joseph, third, and youngest son of Charles Hornet, 
 Sr., was born in As}dum, married Orice Brown, and 
 for a while the owner of the Hornet Mills, which he 
 sold to his brother, Charles, and moved on a farm 
 which he bought close to the village of Monroeton. 
 Joseph Hornet died at Monroeton, February 26, 1880. 
 His wife died July 2, 1865. 
 
 Charles Hornet, Sr. 's first wife, Marie Theresa 
 Schillinger, died January 3, 1823. Mr. Hornet mar- 
 ried a second time Cynthia Sickler, a young woman, 
 by whom he had one child, (a daughter) Lydia, who 
 married Eleazer T. Fox of Towanda. Mr. Fox and 
 his wife had an only child, who died young, and un- 
 married. Mr. Fox died December, 1888. She died 
 April 19, 1886. 
 
 Charles Hornet, Sr., was a reserved man, but not 
 distant. After his second marriage he moved into 
 Wysox, where he died December 29, 1838. Judge 
 Stevens says of him: 
 
 "By prudent management and industry, he soon 
 acquired the means of comfort and ease. His integ- 
 rity was never impeached, and with morals unblem- 
 
90 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 ished, he performed the pilgrimage of life and, like 
 the righteous, met his death with the hope of immor- 
 tality." 
 
 Most of the exiles were Roman Catholics, but Mr. 
 Hornet joined the Methodist Church. 
 
 Charles Hornet, Jr., married Lucy Stevens Sep- 
 tember 24, 1817. Their children were : 
 
 Francis, born July 8, 1820; married first, Mary 
 Gilbert, daughter of Oliver Gilbert. They had no 
 children. His second marriage was with Ada 
 Chamberlain. He was killed suddenly in 1867 by 
 the fall of a derrick when building the creek R. R. 
 bridge at the mouth of Wyalusing Creek. His chil- 
 dren were : Mary, George S. and Rachel. 
 
 Theresa, daughter of Charles F., Jr., and Lucy 
 Stevens, born July 8, 1822 ; married Philemon Stone 
 October 9, 1848. 
 
 Jonathan, born February 16, 1824; married Har- 
 riet Donley March 24, 1851; he followed farming 
 near Fairbanks; died July 1, 1905. 
 
 Edward, born May 3, 1826; married Maria Minnis, 
 who was a well educated physician with an exten- 
 sive practice. Mr. Hornet followed farming, and 
 everything about his premises was kept in neatest 
 condition and excellent order. There was a place 
 for everything and everything in its place. They 
 had an only child, Lucy J., born 1858; died in 1909. 
 He died November 8, 1908. His wife died February 
 4, 1892. 
 
 Milton, born May 24, 1828; married Mary Ann 
 Irvine. He followed farming and stock raising, and 
 was prosperous. Their children were Irvine, born 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OP ASYLUM. 91 
 
 April 29, 1859; died in 1897. Theresa, born in June, 
 1872. 
 
 Milton Hornet died in 1899. His wife died in 1884. 
 He was a very thrifty hard working farmer, and a 
 man of great business ability and accumulated a 
 small fortune. 
 
 Charles S., (usually called Steven Hornet), born 
 May 20, 1830; married Julia Horton, June 11, 1861. 
 She was the daughter of Dr. George F. Horton of 
 Terrytown. They lived on Vaughan Hill. He was 
 a good business man, followed farming, and was suc- 
 cessful. In early life he studied surveying and en- 
 gineering and did considerable land surveying. 
 
 Volney, born March 20, 1833; married Emma A. 
 Ingham, daughter of Thomas Ingham of Sugar Run, 
 April 30, 1861. Previous to his marriage he studied 
 medicine with Dr. Horton and graduated from one 
 of the Philadelphia Medical Colleges. He practiced 
 his profession successfully at Sugar Run, Camptown 
 and Wyalusing. At the breaking out of the Civil 
 War he was appointed an assistant surgeon, was 
 sent to the Army of the Potomac, where he served 
 with ability during the war. After his return he 
 practiced his profession in the village of Wyalusing 
 until his death, which occurred December 27, 1906. 
 
 His wife was born November 25, 1840; died Feb- 
 ruary 26, 1893. Their only child, Jessie, was born 
 April 20, 1863. She is a fine musician, and in- 
 structor of music. 
 
 Dr. Hornet was a pure patriot, a public spirited 
 citizen, an obliging neighbor, and a kind hearted 
 gentleman. 
 
 Seth, son of Charles Hornet, Jr., born March 13, 
 
92 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 1836; died December 19, 1904. Married Elizabeth 
 Eilenberger, March 4, 1864. He served as a soldier 
 nine months in the Civil War, and lived all his life 
 on the Hornet homestead near Hornets Ferry. Their 
 children were : 
 
 Marietta, born March 5, 1865; married Dr. A. D. 
 Nesbit, June 19, 1890, and resides in Tekamah, Neb. 
 They have one child, Marguerite, born May 7, 1891. 
 
 Charles M., born October 6, 1867; married Carrie 
 S. Chamberlain October 28, 1896. Their children 
 are: 
 
 Elizabeth, born May 26, 1898. 
 
 Marietta, born March 24, 1900, died October 12, 
 1910. 
 
 Charles M. lives on the old homestead occupied 
 by his father and his grandfather. 
 
 Cora, born October 21, 1869, died suddenly May 
 10, 1888, of fever just before she was to graduate at 
 Collegiate Institute, Towanda, Pa. 
 
 Anna, born April 16, 1877, died April 18, 1877. 
 
 Geraldine M., born June 29, 1876; married March 
 24, 1906, to Frank D- Vaughan. 
 Joseph A., (son of Charles Hornet, Jr.,) born May 
 May 18, 1840; married Adelia Gordon, June 8, 1865. 
 Their children were : 
 
 Augusta, born August 26, 1867; married Emory 
 Kerrick, December 24, 1891. 
 
 Fanny, born October 2, 1870; married Walter N. 
 Wolcott, July 17, 1906. 
 
 Edward, born January 3, 1873; died November 26, 
 1911. 
 
 Minor, born May 2, 1875; died February 20, 1890. 
 
 Eleazer, born June 3, 1877; died October 17, 1911. 
 
 Mr. Joseph A. Hornet was an active business man, 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OP ASYLUM. 93 
 
 owned and operated the Hornet Mills for many years. 
 He sold the mill, which later was destroyed by fire. 
 He removed to Towanda, where he died December 
 1, 1905. 
 
 The children of Augusta (Hornet) Kerrick: 
 Joseph Hornet Kerrick, born February 20, 1893. 
 Dorothy F. Kerrick, born October 1, 1894; died 
 December 15, 1894. 
 Helen A., born October 1, 1895. 
 Fanny (Hornet) Wolcott has one child, Lydia 
 Hornet, born March 9, 1909. 
 
 The children of Charles., or "Steven" Hornet, 
 and Julia Horton, his wife, were : 
 
 William H., born March 22, 1862; married Adelia 
 L. Mitten October 17, 1889. She died March 18, 
 1910. 
 
 Eliza H., born December 5, 1865; married John G. 
 Black June 18, 1899. 
 
 Francis B., born August 27, 1869; married Lizzie 
 Morrow October 9, 1895. 
 
 The children of W. H. Hornet are : 
 Harold M., born August 1, 1890. 
 Eoland S., born July 16, 1891. 
 Julia H., born December 5, 1892. 
 Edna C, born December 27, 1893. 
 Marion W., born May 8, 1895. 
 Francis J., born March 20, 1898. 
 Mildred, born July 14, 1899. 
 Neva, born June 11, 1901. 
 Dorothy C, born December 29, 1902. 
 Alice M., born August 13, 1905. 
 Euth G., born December 27, 1906. 
 
94 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 The children of Francis B. Hornet are: 
 Beatrice Frances, born October 4, 1896. 
 Evelyn Ferieda, born December 3, 1898. 
 Lida Hannah, born January 7, 1901. 
 Charles Emerson, born December 19, 1908. 
 
 Francis B. lives on the homestead built by his 
 father near Wyalusing Borough. He is a farmer 
 and an accomplished teacher of vocal music and 
 president of the Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance 
 Company of Tuscarora. 
 
 The children of Theresa Hornet (daughter of 
 Charles Hornet, Jr.,) and Philemon Stone were: 
 
 Charles R., born May 27, 1849; died June 19, 1913. 
 
 Thomas Benton, born March 4, 1857; married 
 Minnie Hillis, April 2, 1879. 
 
 Ulysses P., born March 5, 1859; married Augusta 
 Hoffman, April 11, 1908. 
 
 Lucy, born November 9, 1865. 
 
 The children of Thomas B. are: 
 
 William, born December 31, 1879. 
 
 Susie, born April 14, 1888. 
 
 One child died in infancy. 
 
 The children of Francis Hornet were : 
 
 Mary, George S. and Rachel. 
 
 Mary married George W. Fell, and their children 
 were: 
 
 Francis. 
 
 Stella. 
 
 Hugh. 
 
 Paul. 
 
 Joseph. 
 
 Jean. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OP ASYLUM. 95 
 
 George S. had no children. 
 
 Rachel married William Wells, June, 1876. Her 
 children were : 
 Arthur, who married Cora Overfield. 
 Marian. 
 
 Arlene, who married Moses Sparks. 
 Francis N., married Emma Ruff. 
 
 The children of Jonathan Hornet were : 
 Lucv, born May 21, 1853; married J. H. Howard, 
 February 8, 1883." 
 
 Ida, born April 27, 1860; died September, 1863. 
 Ada, born April 23, 1863. 
 The children of Lucy Hornet Howard are : 
 Brunetta, born January 31, 1884; married Ackley 
 
 E. Blocher, August 30, 1912. 
 
 Harriet, born August 3, 1885; married J. Yinette 
 Taylor, October 18, 1913. 
 
 Genevieve, born April 29, 1887; married Ernest 
 
 F. Fox, August 30, 1912. 
 John, born June 15, 1892. 
 
 Brunetta Howard Blocher has one son, Howard N. 
 Harriet Howard Taylor has one son, Justus V. 
 Genevieve Howard Fox has one daughter, Har- 
 riet E. 
 
 DESCENDANTS OF ANTHONY LEFEYRE. 
 
 THE MIX FAMILY. 
 
 Anthony Lefevre was among the first exiles who 
 settled in Asylum in 1793, where he remained during 
 its entire existence, keeping an "inn" or licensed 
 tavern. When the settlement broke up he was one 
 
96 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 of the three who remained on the ground, or only 
 moved a mile or two from it. Bartholomew Laporte 
 and Charles Hornet remained where they were. 
 Anthony Lefevre moved to a new home across the 
 river, only a mile or two from the abandoned town, 
 where he kept an excellent tavern for many years. 
 His locality, or neighborhood in which he lived, was 
 sometimes called Standing Stone, and some times 
 Lime Hill. His daughter, Cecelia, married John 
 Prevost in 1815, and lived on Russell Hill, Wyoming 
 County, Pa., and died there in 1876. John Prevost 
 came from France in 1800, but was not one of the 
 residents at Asylum. He and Cecelia Lefevre had 
 a daughter, Angelique Mary, who married William 
 Mix, one of the substantial and revered residents of 
 Towanda, January 18, 1842. She died January 8, 
 1911, aged 92 years. Their children were: John 
 W. Mix and Mary E. Mix. John W. Mix married 
 Bell Spalding, who died January 29, 1885. Mary 
 E. Mix married Mahlon M. Spalding. She died Jan- 
 uaiy 12, 1915, at Towanda, Pa., her husband and 
 one son, William M. Spalding, surviving her. 
 
 William M. Spalding was born February 15, 1876 ; 
 married to Sarah Gertrude Packer, March 9, 1907, 
 and have three children, viz : 
 
 Marie Angelique Spalding, born January 10, 1908. 
 
 Gertrude Jane Spalding, born May 23, 1910. 
 
 William Mix Spalding, Jr., born March 18, 1915. 
 
 John W. Mix resides at Towanda, in the large, 
 fine looking family homestead, surrounded with 
 spacious grounds, shade trees, fruit trees and flow- 
 ers. Mr. Mix has held the important and responsi- 
 ble office of United States Commissioner for 46 years 
 
MRS. ANGELIQUE M. MIX 
 Granddaughter of Anthony Lefevre, 
 a French refugee. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OP ASYLUM. 97 
 
 under successive administrations, since August. 
 1869, which is proof of his ability and popularity. 
 
 THE D'AUTREMONT FAMILY. 
 
 Hubert d'Autremont was born in France and lost 
 his life at the time of ithe French Revolution. On 
 February 3, 1770, he married Marie Jane d'Ohet. 
 She was born in 1745, and died at Angelica, N. Y., 
 in 1810. She left France in 1792, with her three 
 sons, viz: Louis Paul, born November 7, 1770, 
 died in 1810 in Paris, leaving no male issue. He had 
 one daughter who married a man named Bridet. 
 She had two sons and in 1852, by decree of the Em- 
 peror, Napoleon III, they took their mother's 
 maiden name, d'Autremont, which their descend- 
 ants bear to this day in France, said Louis Paul 
 d 'Autremont having returned to France with Talley- 
 rand in the latter part of the 17th century. 
 
 The second son, Alexander Hubert d'Autremont, 
 was born in Paris, March 12, 1776, and died at An- 
 gelica, N. Y., April 4, 1857. His wife was Abigail 
 Dodge, daughter of Major Dodge of Towanda, Pa. 
 Their third son, Augustus Francois d'Autremont, 
 was born in Paris, France, June 7, 1783. He died 
 at Hume, N. Y., January 28, 1860. 
 
 Charles d'Autremont, son of Alexander Hubert 
 d'Autremont and of Abigail Dodge d'Autremont, 
 one of nine children, was born November 19, 1822, 
 at Angelica, N. Y., and died March 3, 1891, at An- 
 gelica. In 1850, he married Sarah Collins at An- 
 gelica, N. Y. They had two children, Charles d'Au- 
 tremont, Jr., born June 2, 1851, at Angelica, N. Y., 
 now living at Duluth, Minn., and Mary d'Autremont, 
 
98 A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 
 
 born October 16, 1864, at Angelica, N. Y., and still 
 living there. 
 
 Charles d'Autremont, Jr., married on April 21, 
 1880, Hattie Hart, daughter of Erastus P. Hart of 
 Elmira, N. Y. They have five children, as follows: 
 
 Antoinette, born July 10, 1881. 
 
 Louis Paul, born August 23, 1883. 
 
 Charles Maurice, born August 6, 1887. 
 
 Hubert Hart, born February 19, 1889. 
 
 Marie Genevieve, born March 9, 1892. 
 
 They live at Duluth, Minn. 
 
A SHORT HISTORY OF ASYLUM. 99 
 
 THE TABLET. 
 
 Inscription on the Tablet marking 'the site of Asy- 
 lum, erected and dedicated with appropriate cere- 
 monies June 14, 1916. 
 
 THIS MONUMENT IS ERECTED 
 
 TO COMMEMORATE AND PERPETUATE 
 
 THE MEMORY AND DEEDS OF 
 
 THE FRENCH ROTrALIST REFUGEES 
 
 WHO ESCAPING FROM FRANCE 
 
 AND THE HORRORS OF ITS REVOLUTION 
 
 AND FROM THE REVOLUTION IN SAN DOMINGO 
 
 SETTLED HERE IN 1793 
 
 AND LOCATED AND LAID OUT THE TOWN OF 
 
 ASYLUM 
 
 UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE VISCOUNT de 
 
 NOAILLES AND MARQUIS ANTOINE OMER TALON 
 
 IN 1796 LOUIS PHILIPPE, DUKE OF ORLEANS, 
 
 AFTERWARDS KING OF FRANCE, VISITED HERE 
 
 THE PRINCE de TALLEYRAND, 
 
 THE DUKE de MONTPENSIER, COUNT BEAUJOLAIS, 
 
 THE DUKE de la ROCHEFOUCAULD de LIANCOURT, 
 
 AND MANY OTHER DISTINGUISHED FRENCHMEN 
 
 WERE VISITORS OR RESIDENTS FOR A SHORT TIME 
 
 AT ASYLUM. 
 
 ERECTED IN 1916 BY JOHN W. MIX 
 
 AND CHARLES d'AUTREMONT, JR., 
 
 DESCENDANTS OF FRENCH REFUGEE SETTLERS 
 
 LAND DONATED BY GEORGE LAPORTE HEIRS.